Nursing recruiters' attitudes toward older nurses: a quantitative cross-institutional investigation

Aim: To investigate nursing recruiters' attitudes toward mature aged nurses in Western Australia.\ud \ud Method: One hundred and sixty three nursing recruiters', from various sectors, such as hospitals, aged care facilities and nursing agencies, completed questionnaires measuring stereotypes toward older nurses. There were 143 females and 19 males ranging in age from 25 to 67. The state-wide sample comprised 23.30% rural and regional and 76.7% from the Perth metropolitan area. More than 80% of respondents were educated at a tertiary level. There were three dependent variables: the sum of scale for age stereotypes; ratings of how relevant age was in making hiring decisions; and ratings of how likely respondents were to hire older nurses.\ud \ud Results: Analyses showed clear evidence of negative stereotyping of older nurses compared to younger ones, as well as several positive stereotypes. Whilst previous research (Gringart, Helmes & Speelman, 2005; 2007) which employed samples of employers across industries, found that employers were less than likely to hire older workers, nursing recruiters indicated that they would be more than likely to hire older nurses. Nursing recruiters also stated that age was less relevant in making hiring decisions than did general employers. More positive overall attitudes, however, have been expressed by general employers compared to nursing recruiters.\ud \ud Conclusion: These findings are important because they suggest that whilst availability and industry-specific pressures can enhance the employability of older workers it does not change ageist attitudes. This is relevant to policy formulation, attitude change interventions, and the well being of older workers