Nursing faculty and students' perspectives of how students learn to work with older people

Dahlke, Sherry; Davidson, Sandra; Kalogirou, Maya R.; Swoboda, Nicholas L.; Hunter, Kathleen F.; Fox, Mary; Pollard, Cheryl; Baumbusch, Jennifer; Salyers, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104537

Cited by 42 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, another study included in the review reported quality of contact as a significant correlate with positive attitudes towards working with older people. Both the conclusion reached by Dahlke et al, 2020 and the results of the review by Dai et al are consistent with our findings in terms of the potential impact of positive contact experiences with older adults on positive attitudes in home care students.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The effect of extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults on the ageist and helping attitudes of home care students: A single‐blind randomised controlled trial

Pekçetin

Hasgül

Düğeroğlu

et al. 2021

Int J Older People Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Ageist and helping attitudes among undergraduate homecare students are a concern for educators, healthcare professionals and home care workers due to their potential to increase the marginalisation of older people and negatively impact quality of care. Objectives The current study evaluated the effect of extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults on the ageist and helping attitudes of home care students. Methods Fifty‐five students attending a public university in Turkey were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 27) or control group (n = 28). The intervention group received positive theoretical education and had extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults, while the control group only received positive theoretical education. Before and after the intervention, the students’ ageist attitudes were evaluated with Kogan's Attitudes towards Old People scale (KAOP) and helping attitudes were evaluated with the Helping Attitude Scale (HAS). Results There were statistically significant differences between pre‐ and post‐test mean KAOP total, positive ageism and negative ageism subscale scores in the intervention group (p < 0.05) and in KAOP negative ageism score in the control group (p < 0.05). HAS scores showed no significant post‐intervention change in helping attitudes in either group. Conclusion Extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults had a favourable influence on undergraduate health students’ ageism attitudes. These results suggest that contact with older adults may be an effective strategy to reduce ageism but may not increase helping behaviours. Implications for practice Positive contact experiences with community‐dwelling older adults can be used to reduce ageism in home care students.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The effect of extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults on the ageist and helping attitudes of home care students: A single‐blind randomised controlled trial

Pekçetin

Hasgül

Düğeroğlu

et al. 2021

Int J Older People Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hammar et al (2017) suggested that the students’ perceptions about communicating with older people were shaped by their early experiences in their nursing programme. A recent study of student nurses’ perceptions of working with older people supports the findings in this study that identified difficulties students have in communicating with older people, particularly those with dementia (Dahlke et al, 2020). Given the prevalence of ageism that can include negative and benevolent perspectives, both of which can be patronising (Cary et al, 2017), we wonder if studies suggesting that students have positive perspectives about older people are not capturing the possibility that benevolent ageist perspective may be present.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Registered nurses’ reflections on their educational preparation to work with older people

Dahlke

Kalogirou

Swoboda

2021

Int J Older People Nursing

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Negative perceptions about working with older people within nursing contribute to the deficit of educators with expertise to teach student nurses, and nurses graduating ill‐equipped to work with the ageing population. The perceptions of nurses who have recently graduated from a nursing programme can provide insights into what they wished they knew about working with older people before they graduated. Methods A qualitative descriptive study design examined recently graduated registered nurses’ reflections on their education preparation to work with older people. Content and thematic analysis was used to develop the themes of first impressions and preparation to work with older people. Results Key findings were that nurses did not recognise the importance of learning about older people until they had graduated. Only then did they realise that the ageing population was so complex and prevalent. They perceived a lack of education particularly related to working with older people with dementia and their behaviours, as well as learning how to communicate to an older population. Participants perceived that as students, it was up to them to fit in learning about working with older people without the support of faculty. Conclusions Faculty need to be supported in learning how to best incorporate content about older people into their curriculum. This could include the development of learning activities that dispel negative stereotypes about ageing and facilitates interest in older people, as this is the population, students are most likely to work with when they graduate. Implications for practice Nurses in practice may require education on working with people with dementia as it is a deficit in nursing programmes.

show abstract

“…What does seem to exert a major influence is the previous experience which students have with older people. Previous experiences in working with older institutionalized adults tend to decrease positive attitudes, while experiences with older community adults and older relatives tend to improve attitudes [ 57 , 58 , 59 ]. Similar results were obtained in the study by Dahlke, indicating that attitudes are influenced by the type of previous experience the students had, and that cultural aspects of caring for older relatives should also be taken into account [ 58 , 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Attitudes towards Older People in Undergraduate Nursing Students

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The population of older people is increasing worldwide. The social and healthcare systems need many nurses to care for the elderly. Positive attitudes increase the preference to work with older people and improve the quality of care. This study describes attitudes towards the elderly in a sample of nursing students, and analyzes the potential factors influencing these attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in nursing students during the academic course 2017–2018. Kogan’s Attitude Toward Old People Scale was used to assess student attitudes towards older people. Results: The study included 377 undergraduate nursing students, of which 75.9% were women. The mean age was 22.23 (5.69) years. Attitude proved positive, with a mean Kogan’s score of 131.04 (12.66). Women had higher scores than men, with a mean difference of 7.76 (95% CI: 4.87–10.66; p < 0.001). The male sex, age ≥ 25 years, and previous experience with institutionalized older adults worsened attitudes, while studying the subject of geriatrics, each higher course within the degree, work placements in hospitals and nursing homes, and previous experience with community older adults or with older relatives favored a more positive attitude. Participants with no interest in working with older adults yielded lower scores. Conclusions: Attitudes towards the elderly among nursing students are positive. Women have a more positive attitude. Analyzing the factors that improve attitudes in nursing students is suggested, as it may contribute to improve nursing care.

show abstract

Nursing faculty and students' perspectives of how students learn to work with older people

Cited by 42 publications

References 22 publications

The effect of extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults on the ageist and helping attitudes of home care students: A single‐blind randomised controlled trial

The effect of extended contact with community‐dwelling older adults on the ageist and helping attitudes of home care students: A single‐blind randomised controlled trial

Registered nurses’ reflections on their educational preparation to work with older people

Factors Affecting Attitudes towards Older People in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About