Visual perceptions of ageing; A longitudinal mixed methods study of UK undergraduate student nurses’ attitudes and perceptions towards older people

Abstract

Ageism and negative attitudes are said to be institutionally embedded in healthcare during a time when there are unprecedented increases in older population numbers. As nurses' care for older people in a range of environments it is important to examine attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate nurses towards older people. A longitudinal mixed methods study in conjunction with a three-year undergraduate UK nursing programme 2009-2012 was conducted with 310 undergraduate nurses. A questionnaire incorporating Kogan's attitude towards older people scale and a drawing of a person aged 75 years was completed three times, once each year. Thurstone scale and photo elicitation were also employed. Comparisons were made between individual participant's attitude score and drawing. The study established 75% of participants had moderately positive attitudes towards older people when the programme began, at the programme end this had increased to 98%. Age, gender, educational qualifications, practice learning, nursing field and contact with older people influenced participants' overall attitude score. Drawings provided a visual narrative of participants' perceptions of older people, appearance was a dominant discourse and the images were socially constructed. The study established the undergraduate nursing programme influenced attitudes and perceptions towards older people and suggests nurse education can influence changing attitudes. To date there is no known study that has advanced this understanding.

Classic Tool, New Opportunities: A Psychometric Analysis of a Swedish Online Version of the Aging Semantic Differential Scale

“…In accord with previous studies, we found that age, sex, educational qualifications, previous experience of caring for older patients, and personal contact with older people influenced participants’ perceptions toward older individuals (Ridgway et al, 2018). The finding that the age variable showed the most evident mean differences in terms of statistical significance and effect size further suggests that age might be the one of the most consistent demographic variable to predict ageist attitudes, as observed in previous studies (Ridgway et al, 2018; Runkawatt et al, 2013). This reinforces the importance of considering age as a variable to assess construct validity in ageism questionnaires.…”

Perceptions of Healthcare Services Students on Older Peoples and Ageing

“…In a study by Yerli (14), no statistically significant difference was found between positive and negative attitudes of elder care students towards old age, although positive thoughts were more prominent. In a study on nursing students reported by Kulakçı (15), 64% of students responded that they would find it difficult to accept 48 (17) reported that 75% of participants among the British nursing students had moderately positive attitudes towards older people when the programme began, at the programme end this had increased to 98%. Alquwez et al (11) cited that the nursing students that have a near contact to the grandparents, have also positive attitudes toward older peoples.…”

A Survey of Nurses’ Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Hospitalized Older Adults

“…Wade (1999) argued that the staff involved in caring for older adults, notwithstanding their setting, should be actively involved in gerontological education and CPD. Ridgway et al(2018) suggested nurse education can influence changing attitudes towards older people. Moreover, Che et al (2018), Heuer et al (2020 and Rush et al (2017) proposed that nurses and students need evidence-based gerontological knowledge and skills to be able to practice successfully in today's healthcare environment.…”