141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

290606
Attitudes of rural and urban nurses towards older people

Monday, November 4, 2013

Martha Williams, MS, RN, NEA-BC , Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
A. Serdar Atav, PhD , Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
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.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Administration, management, leadership
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Describe attitudes of working nurses towards older people. Analyze the relationships between place (rural/urban), education level, practice setting and attitudes toward older people. Describe educational interventions in work settings to improve attitudes of working nurses toward older people

Keywords: Rural Health Care, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a student in the Binghamton University Decker School of Nursing PhD program in Rural Nursing. I have presented several research studies on the topics of rural professional practice environments and attitudes towards aging, and have published several articles on rural nursing theory and professional isolation. In addition, I have 30 years experience in nursing, with over 20 years experience in progressive nursing management and administration in both rural and urban facilities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.