Attitudes Toward Older Adults and Need for Education Among Nurses and Nursing Assistants

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 517-524
Author(s):  
YoonRyeong Cheon ◽  
Kihye Han ◽  
Sophia J. Chung
Author(s):  
Sabine Heuer

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ittay Mannheim ◽  
Eveline J. M. Wouters ◽  
Leonieke C. van Boekel ◽  
Yvonne van Zaalen

2021 ◽  
pp. 084456212110637
Author(s):  
Jessica Smith ◽  
Monakshi Sawhney ◽  
Lenora Duhn ◽  
Kevin Woo

Background The older adult population in Canada is increasing, and many will require care within an acute geriatric unit (AGU) or long-term care facility (LTCF). However, the nursing workforce is not growing at the same pace as the population is aging. New graduate nurses may be able to fill this gap; therefore, it is important to understand their intentions of working in gerontological care settings (i.e., AGU or LTCF). Aim To examine if nursing education and personal attitudes toward older adults influence newly registered nurses’(RNs) intentions to work in a gerontological care setting. Method Nurses (n= 1,103) who registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario for the first time in 2018 were invited to complete a questionnaire. Results The majority of participants (n = 181) reported a positive attitude toward older adults. However, only 14% reported an intention to work in a gerontological care setting. Participants who completed multiple geriatric focused clinical placements were more likely to report an intention to work in these settings. Conclusion This study provides some information regarding the attitudes and intentions of newly RNs toward a career in gerontological care settings. Further research is needed to understand nurses’ intentions regarding working in AGUs or LTCFs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. S-59-S-72
Author(s):  
Heather Kanenberg ◽  
Susan Mapp ◽  
Rustin Dudley ◽  
Margaret McFarland

Previous literature has established an improvement in student attitudes toward older adults after a service- learning experience with this population. This study furthered the research by conducting a mixed- method comparison group study with a sample of 151 traditional- aged BSW students. Both groups increased in positive perceptions toward older adults on the Polizzi's (2003) refined Aging Semantic Differential Scale, and there was no significant difference between them. Qualitative results specific to those working with seniors suggest that students either improved or maintained positive attitudes toward this population. Therefore service learning may not need to be specific to this population to improve attitudes but does assist in reinforcing classroom material. Findings illustrate a need for further study of the overall impact of the social work curriculum as well as possible cultural shifts in attitudes toward older adults.


2020 ◽  
pp. 014616722095007
Author(s):  
Lindsay S. Ackerman ◽  
William J. Chopik

Most research documenting bias against older adults has been conducted in individualistic and industrialized cultures. In the current study, we examined cultural variation in attitudes toward older adults and subjective age in a large sample of 911,982 participants ( Mage = 27.42, SD = 12.23; 67.6% women) from 68 different countries ( Msize = 12,077; Mdnsize = 425.5). We hypothesized that age bias would be lower among those living in highly collectivistic countries. We found that living in collectivistic countries was associated with less implicit and explicit age bias, and greater feelings of warmth toward older adults compared with highly individualistic countries. Given the impact of age bias and prejudice on both the targets and perpetrators of bias, further research is needed to examine the causes of and interventions for bias against older adults.


2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Philip Tan ◽  
MicheleJ. Hawkins ◽  
Ellen Ryan

This study investigated the attitudes of baccalaureate social work students concerning older adults using the instrument constructed by Sanders, Montgomery, Pittman, and Balkwell (1984). That instrument assesses respondents' attitudes on 20 distinct characteristics of older women and men in three age categories, the young-old (65–74), the old-old (75–99), and centenarians (100+). Data were obtained from 204 students from an accredited undergraduate social work program in a major south Florida university in the spring semester of 1999. The data revealed that the majority of students (93.8%) had not taken any gerontology classes. Only 6.9% of respondents indicated that they were definitely planning to do their field practicum in a geriatric setting, and 4.0% indicated that they definitely intended to work with older adults. Overall student attitudes toward older adults were generally in the neutral range, however, those attitudes were more negative toward older age categories. Female student attitudes were more positive than male student attitudes. Older women were more positively regarded than their male counterparts. Students who indicated that they were close to older adults and who took gerontology classes had more positive attitudes. Future research and implications for social work education are discussed.


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