Attitudes of rural and urban nurses towards older people

Considerable growth of the elderly across the world has brought with it significant care related problems and concerns. Attitudes toward the elderly are mostly based on myths and stereotypes and contribute to a further lack of understanding of the aging process. The quality of care provided to the elderly is directly related to the attitudes of health care professionals. This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of working nurses towards older people and to explore factors which relate to attitude scores. Using Kogan's Attitudes toward Older People (KAOP) scale, 250 working nurses from rural and urban counties in upstate New York were surveyed. The KAOP instrument has been widely used in nursing and allied healthcare literature, and is considered highly valid and reliable.

The presentation will provide a descriptive analysis of working nurses' demographic characteristics including place (rural/urban), practice setting, and previous gerontology course content. The study will answer the questions (a) what attitudes do hospital nurses hold towards older people, (b) what is the relationship between place (rural/urban) and attitude scores of working nurses, (c) what is the relationship between practice setting and attitude scores of working nurses, and (d) what is the relationship between previous gerontology course content and attitude scores.

Nurse leaders and educators should have a clearer understanding of the attitudes of care giving nurses towards older people. The information from this study should be useful in the development and implementation of interventions and educational programs to improve attitudes of nurses working with older people.