Attitudes toward Aging in Portuguese Nursing Students

AbstractThe demographic structure of Portugal is undergoing a rapid change and, as a direct result, the aging index rose from 102 to 128 in the 10 years between 2001 and 2011 (INE, 2012). One of the essential goals of nursing care is to promote the independence and autonomy of patients, making a direct, positive impact on the quality of life of older people. Therefore, the attitudes of nurses about aging and older people are of utmost importance, particularly as they are reflected in the way nurses perceive and interact with their patients and in how they provide nursing care. So it is crucial to develop positive attitudes towards aging and the elderly in nurses and nursing students. The study aims to describe Portuguese nursing students’ attitudes toward aging. We undertook a descriptive study of 140 students in a public, Portuguese nursing school during the 2011/2012 academic year. A questionnaire was used to gather data, including students’ demographic variables, opinions as assessed in the Inventory of Attitudes toward Aging, and the contact participants with elderly persons. The mean score on the Inventory of Attitudes toward Aging was = 2.05 (SD = 0.32), suggesting negative attitudes toward aging, particularly as identified by scores in factor 1 and factor 3. Difference across gender was not significant for factors 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (p= 0.423), (p= 0.668), (p= 0.377), (p= 0.067).No differences were found across mean attitude scores and gender or across attitudes and living with older people. No correlation was found between nursing students’ attitudes and age groups, in the majority of the studied factors. Additional research into attitudes toward aging is needed among Portuguese nursing students in their final year of study as well as in hospitals. Future research should be extended to students from other higher education schools of nursing