Intensive care nurses’ compassion and patience levels and their attitude towards elderly people

Abstract

Backgrounds: Intensive care nurses’ attitudes towards the elderly and their emotional readiness before giving care can have an impact on the quality of care. Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate intensive care nurses’ compassion and patience levels and their attitude towards elderly people. Methods: ‘Data Gathering Form’, the ‘Compassion Competence Scale’, the ‘Patience Scale and the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitude (UCLA-GA) were used. Results: A total of 212 intensive care nurses participated in the study. It was found that nurses whose time working in the intensive care unit and total professional experience were 6 years or more and those who were married and had children had higher levels of both compassion and patience. In addition, patience levels were significantly higher in nurses aged 29 or more. It was found that the nurses’ sociodemographic and professional characteristics did not affect their UCLA-Geriatrics Attitudes total score. Conclusion: It was found in the study that there was a significant positive correlation between the nurses’ compassion and patience levels and their attitudes toward elderly people.