Home Energy Education and the Elderly

Abstract

Attitudes of nursing students in an R.N. diploma program toward the elderly were assessed. Eighty-six students entering their nursing program volunteered and participated in the study. The Oberleder Attitude Toward Aging Scale was completed by the students before any course work which included gerontology content had begun. Each student also completed a five-week clinical experience that focused on the elderly. The Oberleder scale was completed again at the end of the semester. Pretest and posttest responses were assessed and a dependent t-distribution was calculated which revealed that change in attitudes toward the elderly was associated with the gerontological content coursework and clinical experience. Findings provide implications and recommendations for program and curriculum development in nursing education programs.

Fiber Preferences of the Elderly for Thermal Comfort in Cold Weather

“…Depending on the geographic location, the nighttime setback of thermostats by 5-10°F in the winter can result in savings of 9% to 15% (Zabinski & Parlange, 1978); however, in order to maintain comfort and health, elderly people do not practice energy conservation on home heating (Junk & Heikkinen, 1987).…”