Attitudes Toward the Geriatric Patient Among Family Practice Residents†

Abstract

For the Family Practitioner, elderly patients are a highly significant group. In the past, some health professionals have expressed negative attitudes toward the elderly. Thus a need exists to study specific factors that may influence a Family Practice resident's willingness to treat older patients. A Likert-type questionnaire was developed that utilized the Thurstone-Likert discrimination technique. Five categories were chosen for study: general attitudes, cost effectiveness, time and energy, therapeutic potential, and educational preparation. Responses of 150 Family Practice residents were then analyzed. The attitudes of the residents were significantly positive in all categories except Educational Preparation. Noteworthy was the finding that the attitudes improved from the first year through the third year of residency. This is the first medical specialty group to demonstrate such a trend. Certain negative attitudes observed in the Educational Preparation category re-emphasize the need for training programs to improve professional geriatric instruction.

An in‐home geriatric programme for vulnerable community‐dwelling older people improves the detection of dementia in primary care

“…GPs were asked to complete a questionnaire on their baseline personal and practice characteristics, on their attitudes towards geriatric patients (Maxwell and Sullivan, 1980) and their confidence in their own abilities in diagnosis and management of dementia (Robinson et al, 2001).…”

COCOA: A New Validated Instrument to Assess Medical Students' Attitudes Towards Older Adults

“…These instruments include Reuben et al's (1998) Geriatric Attitude Survey (GAS), which consists of 14 items scored on a 1-5 Likert-type (Agreement) scale; the Maxwell-Sullivan Attitude Survey (MSAS), a 28-item attitude measurement scale (Maxwell & Sullivan, 1980); and Rosencranz's factor analysis of attitudes toward the aged (Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969). Stewart et al (2006) reported reliability problems with both Reuben's GAS survey and with Maxwell-Sullivan's MASA survey; this suggests cautious use of these two instruments.…”

Three Strategies for Delivering Continuing Medical Education in Geriatrics to General Practitioners

“…Higher scores indicated a more negative attitude towards the elderly. 2. attitudes of GPs towards geriatric patients (Maxwell & Sullivan, 1980). The scores ranged from 28-140.…”