Attitudes of emergency department doctors towards older adults in Malaysia

Background: Specific knowledge, skills and attitudes are necessary for the evaluation and treatment of older adult patients due to the frailty, vulnerability and disadvantages of this group of individuals compared to their younger counterparts. This study is to determine the attitudes of emergency department doctors in Malaysia towards older adults, its associating factors and their willingness to consider care for these individuals as their career. Methods: Emergency department doctors in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab (HRPZ) II, Hospital Kuala Krai and Hospital Tanah Merah were asked to participate voluntarily in a survey in early 2017. The questionnaires consisted of the basic socio-demographic information and a 14-item validated instrument based on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Geriatrics Attitudes Scale. A fifteenth question enquired about their willingness to consider geriatric medicine as a future career choice. Scoring was performed on a 5- point Likert scale. Using SPSS software ver. 22.0, simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the factors associated with the mean UCLA attitude score. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the relation between the mean attitude scores and willingness to consider a future career in geriatrics