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Attitudes toward the elderly : relationships between registered nurses’ attitudes and a set of selected characteristics of the nurses

University of British Columbia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of registered nurses toward the elderly, and to identify the relationships between nurses' attitudes and the nurses, age, educational level, agency of employment, length of employment in present job, amount of time spent with elderly clients, and whether the nurses have taken a course or advanced education in Gerontological Nursing. Two hundred forty-one registered nurses from three health care settings (acute care, extended care and community) were recruited for the study. The "Opinion About People" Scale was used to measure nurses' attitudes. The results of the study suggest that registered nurses from the three health care settings all have positive attitudes toward the elderly. Type of health care setting, age, length of employment in present job, amount of time spent with elderly clients, and advanced education in Gerontological Nursing all affect attitudes of nurses to some degree. Level of nursing education is the only variable that is not correlated with nurses' attitudes. Registered nurses from the community setting show more positive attitudes toward the elderly. Older nurses reported more "realistic toughness"/cynicism but less anxiety toward aging. They are also more supportive of public responsibility for the elderly than younger nurses. The longer the nurses work in their present job, the less positive their attitudes. Nurses who spend more time with the elderly clients reported stronger support for family responsibility toward the aged. Finally, nurses who have taken a course or advanced education in Gerontological Nursing show more positive attitudes toward the elderly than those who have not taken a course or advanced education.

Text

2010-05-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24511

Nursing

University of British Columbia

Graduate