A study of the attitudes of nursing students toward the elderly following a clinical practice

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the influence of a clinical practice on the attitudes of diploma nursing students toward the elderly. A pretest-posttest approach, using Kogan's Old People Scale, provided data on the attitudes of nursing students upon entry to the diploma nursing program, and the effect of a clinical practice on those attitudes. A comparison was made of the effect of a clinical practice in special care homes and in acute care institutions on the attitudes of the nursing students toward the elderly. Analysis of the attitudes of nursing students toward the elderly and the demographic characteristics was made. The demographic characteristics examined were age, level of education, previous social contact with the elderly, previous work or volunteer experience with the elderly, religiosity and location of residence. The attitudes of the nursing students upon entry to the nursing program were found to be positive. Of the 181 respondents to the pretest, 98.3% had positive attitudes toward the elderly according to the Kogan's Old People Scale. No significant change in the attitudes of the nursing students toward the elderly was found following the clinical practice. There was no significant difference in the attitudes of the students who had a clinical practice in a special care home and those who had a clinical practice in an acute care institution. A significant difference in the attitudes of the nursing students toward the elderly was found according to age of the student and the previous social contact the student had had with the elderly. As the age and the amount of social contact with the elderly increased the attitudes of nursing students toward the elderly became more positive. However, students who had lived with an elderly person were less positive in their attitudes toward the elderly. Recommendations for further research were made based on the findings of the study and the research methodology used in this study. These recommendations have significance for persons involved in the education of health care workers, particularly nursing students