The Australian Human Rights Commission’s research aimed to contribute to a greater understanding of how negative perceptions of ageing and older adults may be shifted. The Commission set out to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief, one-off educational intervention in reducing ageist attitudes among workers in aged care and community settings.

Surveys were conducted pre-workshop and at two follow-up points: immediately after the workshop and 2–3 months post-workshop. The age awareness survey was a single 2.5-hour interactive session that covered topics including common assumptions about ageism and older adults, and what we can do to reduce ageism. A total of 329 aged care and community workers participated in the research by doing at least one survey.

The results provide support for a brief, targeted intervention to drive positive changes in attitudes and behaviour that may be sustained over time.