Effect of Education on Knowledge, Attitude, and Performance of Elderly Caretakers in Nursing Homes of Mashhad City

Abstract

BackgroundThe population of the elderly taken care of at the nursing homes are increasing by the growth of the elderly’s population. Insufficient knowledge of the caretakers can affect the quality of their care from the elderly and result in poor performance. We aimed to evaluate the effect of education on knowledge, attitude, and performance of caretakers working at nursing homes.MethodsIn this quasi-experimental study, a total of 54 caretakers participated in Four-session classes and their knowledge, attitude, and performance towards the elderly were evaluated before, immediately after, and 1 month after the education by a researcher-designed questionnaire using SPSS software version 21.ResultsThe mean scores of the participants’ in attitude had no significant change knowledge scores at the three intervals, respectively (P=0.001) with a significant difference after the intervention compared with before (P<0.05). The performance scores at the three intervals, respectively (P<0.001) with a significant difference after the intervention compared with before (P<0.05). ConclusionThe significant improvement of knowledge and work performance of the elderly caretakers working at nursing homes shows the necessity of educating these individuals for better care from the elderly.