Medical students' and doctors' attitudes towards older patients and their care in hospital settings: a conceptualisation

Abstract

Background: despite assertions in reports from governmental and charitable bodies that negative staff attitudes towards older patients may contribute to inequitable healthcare provision for older patients when compared with younger patients (those aged under 65 years), the research literature does not describe these attitudes in any detail.Objective: this study explored and conceptualised attitudes towards older patients using in-depth interviews.Methods: twenty-five semi-structured interviews with medical students and hospital-based doctors in a UK acute teaching hospital were conducted. Participants were asked about their beliefs, emotions and behavioural tendencies towards older patients, in line with the psychological literature on the definition of attitudes (affective, cognitive and behavioural information). Data were analysed thematically.Results: attitudes towards older patients and their care could be conceptualised under the headings: (i) beliefs about older patients; (ii) older patients' unique needs and the skills required to care for them and (iii) emotions and satisfaction with caring for older patients.Conclusions: our findings outlined common beliefs and stereotypes specific to older patients, as opposed to older people in general. Older patients had unique needs concerning their healthcare. Participants typically described negative emotions about caring for older patients, but the sources of dissatisfaction largely related to the organisational setting and system in which the care is delivered to these patients. This study marks one of the first in-depth attempts to explore attitudes towards older patients in UK hospital settings.

Caring for older patients in the emergency department: Health professionals’ perspectives from Australia – The Safe Elderly Emergency Discharge project

“…15,23,24 Given the unique needs of older ED patients, clinical staff would likely benefit exactly what is going on. 15,23,24 Given the unique needs of older ED patients, clinical staff would likely benefit exactly what is going on.…”

“…[9][10][11] Therefore, it is important to understand the perspectives of health professionals involved in their ED care. 15,16 Thus, multidisciplinary perspectives about emergency care are missing from the current evidence base. [12][13][14] In the UK, nurses' and doctors' attitudes about caring for older patients have been explored, but not specifically in the ED setting.…”

Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine

“…In the United Kingdom, a modest growth in demand for training in the specialty has failed to keep pace with the increased demand within the National Health Service (NHS) for fully-trained geriatricians [4]. This may, in part, be due to negative perceptions towards the specialty, and the patient cohort for which we provide care, reported in surveys of both junior doctors [8][9][10] and medical students [11][12].…”

The Health-Care Needs Among Older Persons in an Indonesian Urban Setting

“…For example, a study conducted by Samra et al clearly stated that health-care professionals, in this case it was physicians, had negative feeling when they were treating older patients [45]. That feeling was not caused by the behavior or attitude of older patients, but it was more related with being afraid to fail in treating older patients and being dissatisfied with the aging unfriendly health system [45]. Beliefs and attitude of health care professionals in providing care to older patients in Indonesia have not been properly explored yet.…”