125Attitudes Towards Elderly—Nai Lee Lui and Chek Hooi Wong Junior Doctors ’ Attitudes Towards Older Adults and its Correlates in a Tertiary-care Public Hospital (original) (raw)
The attitudes of healthcare professionals in a state hospital towards ageism
Journal of Public Health, 2017
Aim This study will be important in terms of determining whether or not there is ageism in terms of healthcare professionals in Turkey and being a reference for the future studies. Methods This study was conducted to examine the attitudes of the healthcare professionals on ageism. The population of this descriptive study consisted of 242 healthcare professionals in Bingöl State Hospital. The data were collected by the researchers between January 2012 and February 2012. The information form including the descriptive characteristics of the healthcare professionals and the Ageism Attitude Scale (AAS) were used to collect the data. Percentage, mean, t test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to assess the data. Results In the study, the average age of the healthcare professionals was 29.75 ± 6.3, 79.3% were female, 59.9% were married, 53.3% had children, and 24.8% of those with children had only one child. Sixty-four percent of the healthcare professionals were nurses, 43.0% had an associate degree, and 82.2% had nuclear families, and 87.6% had no elderly family members living with them. The AAS mean score of the healthcare professionals was 68.58 ± 5.6. Conclusions When the titles and education of healthcare professionals were compared with the scale scores, the difference between them was not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.15, p = 0.859).
Attitudes of Family Physicians Towards the Elderly
The Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 2020
It is stated that negative attitudes towards the elderly affect the diagnosis and treatment processes negatively. Nevertheless, there are not enough recent studies examining the attitudes of family physicians who provide widespread healthcare to the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of family physicians towards the elderly. Material and Methods: Participants of this descriptive study are family physicians working actively in primary care. Data were collected through the software program, between January and June 2018. The link to the questionnaire was sent to the participants via e-mail. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the sociodemographic data and University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitude (UCLA-GA) scale. Results: A total of 401 family physicians, 216 of whom (53.9%) were women, participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 41.19 ± 8.51 years. On evaluation of both the mean total score (42.36 ± 3.42) and mean subscale score (3.02 ± 0.24), it was observed that female participants scored significantly higher (p = 0.001). Moreover, the UCLA-GA medical care subscale score raised with increased working time at family medicine (r = 0.151, p = 0.002) or being a medical doctor (r = 0.14, p = 0.005) and with growing age (r = 0.15, p = 0.003). Conclusion: The results of our study showed that those with longer professional experience, being older age, and women are associated with positive attitude towards the elderly. However, intervention studies are required to improve family physicians' attitudes towards the elderly.
A comparison of acute and long-term health-care personnel's attitudes towards older adults
International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2006
Considerable variations in the quality of care older adults receive may depend much on the attitude of staff towards them. The attitudes of nurses, assistant personnel and porters towards older adults were assessed. Determinants affecting this judgement, such as age, gender, education, years in practice and care setting, were also assessed. Ninety-nine (acute) and 87 (long-term) hospital employees completed the self-report Kogan’s Attitude Towards Old People scale. Significant statistical differences in negative attitudes were found between assistant personnel and nurses and between porters and nurses; these non-professionals believed that older adults were irritable, grouchy, complaining and untidy. Practice area had no influence on attitudes; attitudes were, however, significantly predicted by education levels. Findings suggest that, irrespective of setting, assistant personnel and porters possess significantly greater negative attitudes towards older adults than nursing staff. Furthermore, these negative attitudes seem to be a function of lower educational achievement. Implications for informing practice, education and policy-makers are discussed.
Attitudes towards the Elderly: A Qualitative Study of Adults in Malaysia
Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2022
Objective: The population of the elderly in Malaysia increases every year. However, there is a lack of attention given to adults' attitudes towards the elderly in the country. This study aims to examine the attitudes of adults under the age of 60 towards the elderly in Malaysia. Methodology: The study involved 20 respondents who were interviewed in a focus group. The respondents were divided into four age groups, namely 18 to 29 years, 30 to 39 years, 40 to 49 years, and 50 to 59 years. Each group has five respondents. The interviews were conducted virtually via Webex online application. Each interview took about 1 to 2 hours. Results: Findings from the study showed that most respondents have positive, as opposed to negative, attitudes towards the elderly. The positive attitudes identified in this study are feelings of concern and affection for the elderly (affective), believing that the elderly should be respected (cognitive), and giving focus and attention to the elderly (behavioural). On the other hand, negative attitudes towards the elderly include being easily irritated and feeling stressed (affective), believing that the elderly have less mental and physical strengths (cognitive), and being rude to the elderly (behavioural). Conclusion: The positive attitudes of adults towards the elderly in Malaysia indicate that Malaysians still preserve the tradition of respecting the elderly, and do not marginalize them because of their age.
Challenges of overcoming ageism towards elderly people in healthcare context
Horizons of Education, 2017
The purpose of the paper is to analyse the impact ageism may have on providing healthcare to elderly people. The article investigates the consequences of ageism in medical settings, where the elderly are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, distinguishing ageism from appropriate practice variation as well as giving suggestions to improve the situation. The paper analyses research published worldwide on selected issues connected with ageism with special attention to medical professionals’ attitudes and ageist behaviours of the elderly’s environment in a situation of their disability or illness. Firstly, the relation of ageism to other forms of stereotyping is outlined. Then, the threats of positive ageism are elaborated. The next section is devoted to self-stereotyping of the elderly and its impact on their functioning. Then, the paper discusses medical professionals’ attitudes and ways to measure them, as well as educational interventions that may alter them. Finally, the article refers effective ways of adjusting health promotion messages to the needs of older adults. Ageism bases on mechanisms similar to sexism and racism, but there are some remarkable differences. Positive ageism may be compassionate, however, might be harmful when intruding into an elderly person’s decisions. Self-stereotyping may be described with a model of a vicious cycle. Contact with the elderly is found to be useful in changing medical staff’s attitudes. Family-centred messages are most effective when it comes to health promotion among older adults. Studies on ageism prove that negative convictions about the elderly are harmful and affect their functioning. Inclusion of the elderly should be applied in social contexts as well as in science, as the elderly are often missed out in research samples.
General practitioners' knowledge of ageing and attitudes towards older people in China
Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2013
Aim: To explore general practitioners (GPs)' knowledge of ageing, attitudes towards older people and factors affecting their knowledge and attitudes in a Chinese context. Methods: Four hundred GPs were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Aging Semantic Differential (CASD) and the Chinese version of the Facts on Aging Quiz (CFAQ1) scale. Results: The CASD scores indicated that GPs had a neutral attitude towards older people. The CFAQ1 scores indicated a low level of knowledge about ageing. GPs' awareness of the mental and social facts of ageing was poorer compared to that of physical facts. Male GPs had a significantly higher negative bias score than female GPs. No other variables had a statistically significant influence on knowledge and attitudes. Conclusions: The findings suggest the need for education interventions for GPs regarding knowledge of ageing and also provide evidence to guide future development of continuing medical programs for this group of medical doctors.
Hacettepe Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Dergisi, 2021
Aim: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted to determine the attitudes of the health care staff who work for the institutions providing primary health care services in Kayseri. The study was conducted with 259 individuals who agreed to participate in the study. In the quantitative part of the study, a questionnaire form and the Ageism Attitude Scale were used. In the qualitative part of the research, indepth interviews were conducted with eight health care personnel who had the highest and lowest scores on the Ageism Attitude Scale and agreed to interview. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and chisquare tests were used to analyze the data. The statistical significance level was taken as 0.05 in all tests. Results: In the study, it was found that while male health care personnel wanted to live with the elderly, female health care personnel did not (p <0.05). In the mean score distribution of the ageism attitude scale, it was determined that physicians and health officers had higher positive discrimination scores towards the elderly. Nurses' and midwives' negative discrimination scores against the elderly were higher than the other groups (p<0.05). As the education level increased, the scores of positive discrimination against the elderly also increased. In the research, we can say that healthcare personnel discriminates elderly at different points. The important thing is to reveal the prejudices of the health personnel about the elderly and ensure that the health personnel serving the elderly are aware of these prejudices. We think that this research will give health care professionals an insight.
Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 2020
Phenomenon: Ageism is a significant social issue, especially in China. Ageism adversely affects willingness to consider a career in geriatric medicine. However, few studies have examined this topic among Chinese medical students. This study aimed to investigate attitudes toward older people among medical students in China, examine the factors related to these attitudes, and determine the relationships between attitudes and willingness to consider geriatric medicine as a career after graduation. Approach: Responses from 1,022 Chinese medical students were included in the analyses. Students provided demographic information and completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA). The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 24.0 (IBM SPSS Corp). Findings: The mean score of the FSA was 64.42 ± 6.58. Multiple regression analysis showed that the significant predictors of ageism were being male, longer years of training in medical school, and no caregiving experiences with older adults during clinical practice (R 2 ¼ .038, F ¼ 13.520, p < .001). Students who had higher FSA scores were more unwilling to consider a career in geriatric medicine after graduation (t ¼ 4.281, p < .001, Cohen's d ¼ .268). Insights: Chinese medical students have fewer positive attitudes toward older adults than what has been reported in other countries. Future studies should examine the determinants of ageism among medical students in various cultures to guide the development, implementation, and assessment of interventions designed to nurture a more positive attitude toward older adults and increase willingness to consider a career in geriatric medicine.
Erciyes Medical Journal, 2021
Objective: Attitudes of medical faculty students toward ageism are an important issue in terms of public health. In Turkey, there is not enough study to attract attention to ageism. In this study, it was aimed to determine some factors related to the attitudes of the first and last year students of Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine toward the elderly in the 2017-2018 academic year. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data of 468 (71.6%) students studying in the first and last years were analyzed. As a data collection tool, a sociodemographic questionnaire and Ageism Attitude Scale (AAS) were used. The dependent variable of the study was the attitude toward ageism, independent variables were age, gender, grade, economic situation, family structure, the condition of staying with the elderly before and currently, and willingness to care for the elderly. Results: The average age of participants was 21.8±3.0 years, 51.0% were first grade and 51.5% were women. The total AAS score of the students was 84.9±8.8, the restricting the life of the elderly was 36.8±4.3, the positive ageism score was 30.3±5.0, and the negative ageism score was 17.8±3.0. The AAS total score and the restricting the life of the elderly score were significantly higher in women and last grade students (p<0.05). Conclusion: To develop students' attitudes toward the elderly in a positive way, elderly health and old age lessons should be included in the curriculum and students should be provided with spending time with the elderly.