Reducing Ageism in Organizations: A Study Protocol

NCT07484165 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: USAL ageism
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 90
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Background: This article presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial designed to develop and evaluate a psychoeducational intervention aimed at reduce ageism in the workplace, will improve attitudes toward older workers as well as various indicators of well-being and psychosocial functioning in the professional context. Methods: The study will be conducted at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Salamanca (Spain). Currently employed with at least five years of tenure in the organization or the relevant sector, performing tasks that involve frequent collaboration with colleagues from different generations will be recruited. Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention group, which will undergo a psychoeducational programme consisting of 12 sessions over 3 months; and the control group, which will receive a educational programme of one session. All participants will complete initial and final assessments, as well as a 3-month follow-up, collecting sociodemographic data and applying various psychological, social and health assessment instruments. Discussion: This protocol describes a comprehensive psychoeducational intervention aimed at reducing negative stereotypical beliefs about older workers and enhance relevant psychosocial variables in the organizational environment, such as job satisfaction, psychological flexibility, perceived social support, perceived health, and self-efficacy in navigating intergenerational work situations. The evidence generated will guide future interventions, policies, and educational programmes to promote preparing workers and teams in several key areas, such as recognising and challenging age-related stereotypes, developing empathy towards colleagues from different generations, promoting inclusive practices in daily interaction and work collaboration and fostering a more equitable and respectful organisational climate towards all ages.

Conditions

Ageism; Job Satisfaction; Workers

Keywords

ageism; organizations; job satisfaction; psychoeducational intervention; psychology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Attitudes toward older workers

  Measured by the Stereotypes toward Aging at Work Questionnaire (CETV-T), adapted from the CENVE (Blanca et al., 2005). It consists of 20 self-administered items, with a 7-point Likert-type scale (from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree). It assesses four dimensions related to negative attitudes towards retirement: (1) health, (2) economy, (3) status and (4) leisure/family. The final scores indicate more negative attitudes the higher the value obtained. The full scale has a Cronbach's alpha of 0.80, for the factors, the values obtained are: Leisure/leisure time-family an alpha of 0.836, economy 0.791, status 0.78 and health 0.69 (although this factor has the lowest value it is still considered acceptable within psychometric research standards).

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Job satisfaction and well-being at work

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Psychological flexibility

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Perceived social support

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Perceived health

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Self-efficacy

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

Study Arms (2)

Education Programme

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Objective: Participants will receive general information and recommendations to foster inclusive attitudes towards older workers and promote a positive intergenerational work environment. This minimally active intervention provides basic support without the structured sessions of the psychoeducational programme, facilitating the comparison of effects between groups. Materials: Dossier with instructions and recommendations on inclusion and intergenerational awareness at work. Procedures: Participants will receive the dossier with information on: identifying age stereotypes, good practices for the workplace inclusion of older workers, and basic strategies for promoting a respectful and equitable work environment.

Behavioral: Education Programme

Psychoeducational Programme

EXPERIMENTAL

Objective: The programme seeks to reduce stereotypes and negative attitudes towards older workers, promoting an inclusive and generationally diverse work environment. Its objectives include improving: attitudes towards older workers, psychological flexibility, perceived social support, well-being at work, perceived health, and self-efficacy in managing intergenerational teams. Materials: Projector, computer, screen, presentations, stationery, chairs, tables, and homework log. Procedures: The programme combines structured education with psychoeducational activities. Who conducts it: All sessions are led by psychologists with experience in generational diversity and ageing in the workplace, rotating between three professionals to ensure consistency, thematic accuracy and personalised attention.

Behavioral: Psychoeducational Programme

Interventions

Psychoeducational Programme BEHAVIORAL

The programme seeks to reduce stereotypes and negative attitudes towards older workers, promoting an inclusive and generationally diverse work environment. Its objectives include improving: attitudes towards older workers, psychological flexibility, perceived social support, well-being at work, perceived health, and self-efficacy in managing intergenerational teams.

Psychoeducational Programme

Education Programme BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general information and recommendations to foster inclusive attitudes towards older workers and promote a positive intergenerational work environment. This minimally active intervention provides basic support without the structured sessions of the psychoeducational programme, facilitating the comparison of effects between groups.

Education Programme

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently employed with at least five years of tenure in the organization or the relevant sector. At this stage of their career, attitudes toward colleagues from different generations are considered more likely to be deeply ingrained, making this profile particularly suitable for the intervention.
• Performing tasks that involve frequent collaboration with colleagues from different generations.
• Ability and willingness to attend the program sessions regularly.

You may not qualify if:

• Workers who meet any of the following conditions will be excluded from the study:
• Significant reading or linguistic comprehension difficulties that prevent them from participating adequately in psychoeducational sessions or completing assessment instruments.
• Serious and destabilised medical or psychological disorders that may interfere with the normal development of the programme (e.g., severe untreated depressive episodes, limiting neurological disorders).
• Refusal to sign the informed consent form or lack of availability to attend programme sessions regularly.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Salamanca: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Ageism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Prejudice; Social Behavior; Behavior; Social Discrimination

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The work of sequencing, randomisation, recruitment and allocation of the trial sample will be carried out by research staff who are not involved in the assessments or interventions of each group, thus avoiding any potential bias in the trial.Participants will also be blinded and will not know which group they have been allocated to and therefore which intervention they will receive. In order to minimise any contamination between groups, the assessment process will be carried out by external research staff who will perform the measurements and who have been previously trained and educated to avoid subjective bias in the process, as they will be unaware of the intervention group to which they have been assigned, thus masking the blinded assessment by third parties in the clinical trial. In addition, the researchers responsible for the statistical analysis of the trial will be blinded in order to increase the rigour of the trial process and thus the scientific quality.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2026
• First Posted: March 19, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 19, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Data will be available at the end of the study.
• Access Criteria: Open access for researchers.