Kogan's Attitudes Research Articles

The Influence of Physical Therapists’ Beliefs and Attitudes About Ageing on Expectations About Outcomes in a Hypothetical Patient

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of beliefs and attitudes of practicing physical therapists (PTs) about aging on their expectations concerning the behavior and outcomes of patients with orthopedic conditions. We hypothesized that some beliefs and attitudes would be related to expectations of worse outcomes in older patients compared to clinically identical younger patients. Methods: Seventy-one (71) practicing PTs with a mean age of 40 years (±10.44, range 24–67) were recruited via snowball sampling and asked to participate in a three-part online questionnaire. For part 1, participants were randomly assigned a hypothetical case involving either a 42-year-old or an 85-year-old patient s/p surgical repair of a femoral shaft fracture. Thirty-five (35) participants were randomly assigned to the young case group (YCG) and 37 to the old case group (OCG). Participants were asked questions related to their expectations concerning the patient’s clinical and functional potential, response and adherence to physical therapy, and patient responsibility for their own outcomes. For part 2, all participants completed the Kogan Attitude Toward Old People Scale consisting of 34 paired (positive/negative) statements. Part 3 consisted of subject demographics. Results: Participants in the YCG and the OCG were similar in age (41 vs. 40 years), PT experience (16.7 vs. 14.8 years), gender (82.9% vs. 86.5% female), and positive Kogan score (69.5 vs. 68.2). The groups differed in belief the patient would return to their prior level of function. YCG believed it was “extremely likely”, while the OCG believed it was “moderately likely”. In the OCG, greater likelihood that the patient would return to prior level of function was related to stronger belief that “Most ageing adults are really no different from anybody else” (r = 0.35). Conclusion: In general, physical therapist participants in this study agreed with positive attitudes and beliefs about aging adults as measured by total positive Kogan score. The only outcome expectation that appeared to be influenced by the age of hypothetical patient was return to prior level of function. Although some specific age-related beliefs were correlated to expectation of return to prior level of function, the positive Kogan score was not. It is possible that age related differences in expectations of return to prior level of function were influenced by clinical experience rehabilitating older patients rather than negative attitudes and beliefs about aging.

The effects of geriatric oral dental health training to dental students on their elderly attitudes.

To measure the effect of geriatric oral health education on the attitude of dentistry students towards the elderly. The interventional study was conducted in December 2022 at Sivas, and comprised students of the Faculty of Dentistry, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Turkiye in their 4th and 5th academic year. A 20-hour training course was delivered over 3 days by faculty members. Baseline and post-intervention difference was assessed using the Kogan's Attitudes Towards Old People Scale. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. Of the 30 students, 18(60%) were females and 12(40%) were males. The overall mean age was 22.93±1.63 years. Besides, 18(60%) students belonged to 5th year and 12(40%) to the 4th year. The mean Kogan Elderly Attitude Scale score at baseline was 184.13±25.55, while post-intervention it was 195.36±22.36. (p<0.05). Relevant training was found to have a significant impact on the attitude of dentistry students towards the elderly.

The impact of scenario-based aging simulation experience on empathy, attitudes toward and willingness to work with older adults in health sciences senior year students: A randomized controlled trial

This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of scenario-based aging simulation experience (SBASE) on students' empathy, attitudes toward and willingness to work with older adults. Innovative teaching strategies such as SBASE have the potential to provide students with the essential skills required for working with older adults. This study has a randomized controlled trial. This study was conducted in west of Turkiye with 120 health sciences senior year students (45 nursing students, 54 medicine students and 21 physical therapy and rehabilitation students) in 2022-2023. The students were randomly assigned to intervention or control group (IG-CG). The IG received SBASE. Pre- and post-tests (after intervention, 1 and 3 months later) were conducted. Data were collected using the descriptive characteristics form, Kogan's attitudes toward old people scale, basic empathy scale and willingness to work with elderly people scale. The IG participants recorded statistically better scores regarding positive attitudes towards older adults, in terms of the group x time interaction (t: 2.521, p: 0.036). However, there was no significant difference in the variables investigated between the groups. SBASE appeared to be effective in improving health sciences students' positive attitudes towards older adults. Health care providers should have a more positive attitude toward older adults to improve levels of care. Data and supplementary material related to this article can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.

Health Sciences Students’ Attitudes Towards Older People

ABSTRACT This study investigated Turkish health sciences students’ attitudes toward older adults. Data were collected using Kogan’s Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (KAOPS). The sample consisted of 369 students from a public university in Turkey. Participants had low-level positive attitudes toward older adults. Age, grade level, income, curriculum on old age, and willingness to work for healthcare institutions and social services for older people affected their attitudes. Participants’ KAOPS scores differed by desired distance from parents after marriage, the introduction of a curriculum on old age, and their willingness to live close to parents after marriage, take elective courses about old age, volunteer in activities and projects for older adults, and work for healthcare institutions and/or social services for older adults after graduation. The curricula should address older adults to improve students’ attitudes toward them. Policymakers and administrators should evaluate young generations’ attitudes toward older adults and develop policies based on evidence-based data.

Intensive care unit nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards older adults with COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey

Older adults constitute the majority of patients admitted to COVID-19 intensive care units (ICUs). The knowledge and attitudes of ICU nurses towards older adults diagnosed with COVID-19 significantly impact the quality of treatment and nursing care they deliver. The objective of this study was to determine the ICU nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards older adults with COVID-19. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between February and October 2021. The sample consisted of 112 ICU nurses from a public hospital and three university hospitals. Demographic data were collected together with the Nurse COVID-19 Knowledge Level Assessment Form (NKLAF) and the Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (KAOPS). The data were analysed using the independent-groups t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U Test (Z score), Kruskale-Wallis Variance Test, post hoc test, and Spearman's correlation analysis. Intensive care nurses had a mean NKLAF score of 21.29±2.63 (mean difference: 21.24). They had a mean KAOPS score of 129.37±15.20 (mean difference: 129.32). There was no correlation between NKLAF and KAOPS scores (r=0.163, p>0.05). Female nurses had a significantly higher mean NKLAF score than their male counterparts (Z:-2.733, p=0.006). The intensive care nurses with bachelor's degrees had a significantly higher mean KAOPS score than those with associate degrees (KW: 6.888, p=0.032). The results indicate that ICU nurses know enough about COVID-19 and have positive attitudes towards older adults diagnosed with it. Moreover, some descriptive characteristics affect the knowledge and attitudes of ICU nurses towards older adults. Therefore, nurses should consider these factors when planning interventions to enhance their care for older adults.

Analysis of Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Latent Profile Methods

Background: Nursing students' attitudes toward older adults was considered as one of the main reasons of willingness to provide elderly care. Previous studies could not consider the heterogeneity characteristics of nursing students' attitudes towards older adults. This study was to identify nursing students' attitude towards the elderly using Latent Profle Analysis (LPA) and discussed the influence factors of different potential attitudes. Methods: 622 participants were included. Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz, Kogan's Attitude Toward Older People Scale and Interpersonal Reactivity Index were completed. LPA and Logistic regression were used to categorize participants into distinct KAOP subgroups and identify predictors of KAOP subgroup classification, respectively. Results: Latent Profles Analysis produced two profiles: Positive attitude (60.1%, n = 373), negative attitude (39.9%, n = 249). Positive attitude towards the elderly was decreased from 95.8% to 60.1% based on the population heterogeneity. Logistic regression analysis revealed that multiple-child family, the relationship with older adults, knowledge of aging, perspective-taking and empathic concern affect nursing students' attitude towards the elderly. Conclusions: Targeted interventions to improve attitudes might focus on those subgroups from person-oriented approach through helping them to build good relationship with older adults, strengthening knowledge of aging and cultivating empathy.

Factors related to the attitudes towards the older adults and emphatic skills of gerontology students

Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine the factors related to the attitudes and empathic skill levels of gerontology students towards the older adults. Methods: 167 Gerontology students participated in our study. Data were collected by Google online survey method using personal information form, Kogan's Attitude towards Elderly Scale and Basic Empathy Scale. Results: Mean age of the students is 21.41 ± 2 year, 80% were female. A statistically significant difference was found between the students' grade level, their mother's education level, whether they lived with an older adult at any time in their lives, the duration of living with an older adult and the total score of the attitude towards the elderly scale (p &lt; 0.001, 0.002, 0.017, 0.044, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference between gender, mother's education level, the place where they lived for the longest time and the positive attitude score towards the elderly (p = 0.008, 0.005, 0.019, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference between the students' grade level, number of siblings, whether they lived with an older adult at any time in their lives and the negative attitude score towards the elderly (p&lt;0.001, 0.016, 0.028, respectively). A statistically significant difference was found between gender, mother's education level and the total score of the basic empathy scale (p&lt;0.001, 0.005, respectively), emotional subscale (p&lt;0.001, 0.041, respectively) and cognitive subscale scores (p = 0.007, 0.005, respectively). The mean Attitudes Towards Elderly Scale Total Score, Positive Attitude Sub-scale Score and Negative Attitude Sub-scale Score of the students were 156.52 ± 17.54, 72.59 ± 11.02 and 83.93 ± 11.89, respectively. The mean scores of Basic Empathy Scale Total Score, Cognitive Sub-scale Score and Emotional Sub-scale Score were 78.05 ± 10.19, 37.04 ± 4.94 and 41.02 ± 7.13, respectively. Conclusions: In our study, it was determined that the gerontology department students had high attitudes and empathic skills towards the older adults.

Yaşlı Bakım Öğrencilerinin Yaşlı Bireylere Yönelik Tutumları

The purpose of this research is to examine the attitudes of students studying elderly care towards old people. This descriptive study was conducted with 307 students studying in the elderly care program of two different state universities in the Eastern part of Turkey. Data were collected with the "Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale(KAOPS )" and "Personal Information Form". The data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 statistical analysis software, and the analysis involved calculating numbers, percentages, means, as well as conducting t-tests and ANOVA tests. The lowest score that the participating elderly care students got from the scale was 53, the highest was 205, and the average score of the scale was 142,47±21,74. A statistically significant difference was determined between students' grades and their subsequent motivation to care for and attitudes towards the elderly (p

Empathy and attitude towards geriatric patients among dental students in clinical settings: A descriptive study

Empathy in dentistry is the ability to recognise the patient's inner needs and sentiments during their visit and assist them in achieving a high rate of treatment success. Empathy has received little attention in the field of dentistry. Hence the present study was planned with an aim to know how first and final year undergraduate students value of empathy and their attitude towards geriatric patients. A cross sectional descriptive research was conducted among first year and final years undergraduate students. Self-administered validated questionnaires were provided through electronic media and information was collected. A total of 168 students participated in the present research with 103(61.7%) females and 65 (38.2%) males. Mean empathy scores assessed by Jefferson Scale was more among final years (77.20) in comparison to first years (66.25) and it was statistically significant. Kogan's attitudes scale showed more attitude score among first-year students (123.08) than fourth year (144.84). The difference obtained found to be statistically significant. (p<0.001) The final year students were more empathetic than the first-year students. Hence, educating the students on the importance of empathy from the beginning of their course, it can become an integrated part of their approach to geriatric patient care and improve the overall quality of healthcare.

Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Version of Kogan's Attitude toward Older People Scale (KAOP).

It is essential to understand the behavior and attitudes of nurses towards older people to improve clinical practice and quality of care in the gerontological sector. A clearer understanding of the attitudes that drive nurses toward the desire to work with older people would be a good starting point to encourage the development of positive and nurturing attitudes. A cross-sectional study with non-probabilistic sampling and a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among 381 nursing students of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Castilla La-Mancha to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish Version of the Kogan's Attitudes Towards Older People Scale (KAOP-S). Construct validity, internal consistency, and reliability were assessed. In total, 298 females and 83 males completed the questionnaires. Their mean age was 20.42 years. The results revealed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.75 for the scale, which is comparable with other published versions of the KAOP Scale. The results of the exploratory factor analysis established that the scale has a two-factor solution and an explained variance of 25% in the sample. The KAOP-S was found to be a reliable and valid tool with good content and construct validity for assessing nursing students' attitudes towards older people.

Evaluating knowledge and attitudes scales for the care of older adults among nursing students in Ghana

BackgroundUnderstanding nursing students’ knowledge about and attitudes toward older adults’ using context-specific survey instruments can help to identify and design effective learning and teaching materials to improve the care for persons 60 years and above. However, there are no validated instruments to examine nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes toward the care for older adults in the African context. The study aimed to evaluate the items on the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz and Kogan's Attitudes towards Old People Scale suitable for the African context.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using second-and third-year nursing students from two public Nursing Training Institutions in Ghana. Using Sahin’s rule of sample size estimate of at least 150 participants for unidimensional dichotomous scales, 170 nursing students were recruited to participate after an information session in their classrooms. Data were collected from December 2019—March 2020 using the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz and Kogan’s Attitudes Towards Old People Scale. Item response theory was employed to evaluate the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz difficulty level and discrimination indices. Corrected item-to-total correlation analysis was conducted for Kogan's Attitudes towards Old People Scale. The internal consistency for both scales was examined.ResultsOf the 170 participants, 169 returned completed surveys. The mean age of participants was 21 years (SD = 3.7), and (54%) were female. Of the 30-items of the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz, seven items were very difficult for most students to choose the correct response, and one was easy, as most of the students chose the correct response. Although 22 items demonstrated appropriate difficulty level, discrimination indices were used to select the final 15- items that discriminated moderately between upper and lower 25% performing students. The Kuder-Richardson-20 reliability was. 0.30, which was low. Considering Kogan's Attitudes towards Old People scale, 10-items were removed following negative and low corrected item-to-total correlation and a high Alpha coefficient if items were deleted. The final 22-items had a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.65, which was moderately satisfactory.ConclusionEvaluation of the scales demonstrated essential content validity and moderate internal consistency for the context of our study. Further research should focus on ongoing context-specific refinement of the survey instruments to measure nursing students’ knowledge about and attitudes toward caring for older adults in the African context.

Empathy and Attitude upon An Aged Body: Aged Simulation Suit Among Undergraduate Physiotherapy Students

Background and Purpose: When empathy and attitude levels of health professionals are high, patient compliance and satisfaction are increased. The purpose of this study was to assess the empathy and attitude levels of undergraduate physiotherapy students towards older people before and after wearing the aged simulation suit by performing pre-defined related scenarios. &#x0D; &#x0D; Methods: The aged simulation suit was put on 63 students to complete the pre-defined scenarios, which included reading, eating, walking, and sitting to determine the experiences and emotions of students via semi-structured questions and interviews. The empathy and attitude levels were evaluated using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Students (JSE-HPS) version and Kogan's Attitudes Towards Old People (KAOP) scales at baseline and immediately after performed scenarios.&#x0D; &#x0D; Results: The scores of the JSE-HPS and its sub-scales, including "perspective-taking" (p=0.000) and "compassionate care" (p=0.008), were significantly improved, while "standing in patient's shoes" was significantly decreased after the intervention (p=0.005). KAOP positive items were found to be higher compared to the baseline results (p=0.040). Besides, 87.1% of the students stated that their behavior towards older people would change positively.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion: Using aged simulation suits may be an effective educational technique that positively contributes to undergraduate physiotherapy students' attitudes and empathy.

INVESTIGATION OF NURSES’ATTITUDES TOWARDS OLDER ADULTS AND AGEISM DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PERIOD

Objective: The present study was carried out to determine nurses’ attitudes towards older adults and ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic period.&#x0D; Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study conducted between July 15, 2020 and August 15, 2020. Data were collected with the Personal Information Form, Age Discrimination Attitude Scale (ADAS), and Kogan Attitudes towards Old People (KAOP) Scale. To collect the study data, online (e-mail, whatsapp) questionnaires sent to the nurses. Of the nurses, 211 who responded to the questionnaires and met the inclusion criteria included in the study.&#x0D; Results: In the study, the mean score the participating nurses obtained from the Age Discrimination Attitude Scale (ADAS) was moderate (71.96±3.88) and its sub-dimensions limiting the life of older adults was high (30.19±2.24). The mean score the participating nurses obtained from the Kogan Attitudes towards Old People (KAOP) Scale was also moderate (104.90±13.23) and its sub-dimensions negative attitudes was high (53.84±9.21). In the study, it was determined that the participating nurses’ displaying positive attitudes towards older adults increased the positive discrimination (p

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the UCLA Geriatrics Attitudes Scale (UCLA-GAS).

The attitudes toward older patients are considered the main factor in providing health services. There is a lack of proper short scale to measure attitudes toward older patients among healthcare professionals. The present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the UCLA Geriatric Attitude scale (UCLA-GAS) among a sample of Iranian healthcare professionals. The method of this study was cross-sectional for psychometric evaluation. The sample included 232 healthcare professionals in Mazandaran city. Study participants were selected by cluster random sampling technique. Psychometric evaluation of the UCLA-GAS assessed through content and construct validity. Content validity was evaluated based on the content validity index (CVI) and construct validity was investigated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Also, convergent validity was assessed using the Kogan's Attitudes Toward Older People Scale (KAOPS) questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency reliability and stability was assessed using test-retest. Regarding the content validity, CVI and modified Kappa statistic for all items were >0.79 and showed all items relevant to the UCLA-GAS in the Iranian context. The three dimensions of the UCLA-GAS extracted from factor analysis were labeled: 1- medical/economic burden (6 items) 2- appreciate attitude (5 items), 3- resource allocation (3 items). CFA revealed that the UCLA-GAS structure model was a validated model (CMIN = 2.312, GFI = 0.913, CFI = 0.902, RMSEA = 0.075). The scale had a significant and positive correlation with KAOPS questionnaire. Also, The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.78 and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for total instrument was reported as 0.93 (95% CI: 0.87-0.98) and demonstrated good reliability of the instrument. The result shows the UCLA-GAS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring attitudes toward older patients among healthcare professionals. This study recommends using Iranian UCLA-GAS in future research and policy-making.

Attitudes toward older people among nursing students in Greece.

The age profile of the population has shifted globally. Age discrimination has been documented, particularly in the areas of health and employment. This study aims at examining nursing students' attitudes toward older people and dehumanization of older people among nursing students. A cross-sectional design was employed in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which included a sociodemographic variables questionnaire, the Kogan's Attitude towards Old People Scale (KAOP) scale, a modified version of the Human Nature & Human Uniqueness Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. A total of 410 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study. Descriptive statistics were applied while inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation, and regression analysis with the stepwise method were also performed. The significant level was set as p ≤ .05. SPSS-25 was used for the analysis of data. The total mean score of the KAOP scale was 128.84 ± 14.32, indicating that nursing students had a slightly positive view of older individuals. Nursing students scored higher on the mechanistic dehumanization scale than on the animalistic dehumanization one. A strong negative association was found between Mechanistic and Animalistic dehumanization with the KAOP scale and empathy. Year of study, age, and gender were identified as predictor variables for mechanical dehumanization. Personality traits, demographic variables, and nursing students' level of empathy are factors that influence their views about older people and the dehumanization of older people.

Öğrencilerde Psikolojik Sağlamlık ve Yaşlı Bireye Tutum Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Amaç: Dünyada ve Türkiye de giderek artan yaşlı nüfus, yaşlı bireye özgü eğitim almış personel ihtiyacını beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada sağlık bakım hizmetleri bölümünde eğitim gören öğrencilerin psikolojik sağlamlık düzeyleri ile yaşlı bireye tutumları arasındaki ilişkinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmada tanımlayıcı anket formu, Kogan Yaşlılara Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği (KAOPS) ve yılmazlık ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Veriler Mart 2021 tarihinde, yüz yüze eğitimin olmaması nedeniyle Google form linki ile toplanmıştır. Toplam 280 Sağlık bakım hizmetleri bölümü öğrencilerinden 184’üne ulaşılmıştır. Verilerin istatistiksel analizde ortalama±standart sapma, frekans ve yüzde değerleri, bağımsız gruplar t-testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) kullanılmış olup testlerin anlamlılık düzeyi için p&amp;lt;0,05 alınmıştır. İlişki düzeylerini değerlendirmek için parametrik test pearson korelasyon testi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Öğrencilerin yaş, Kogan yaşlılara yönelik tutum ölçeği ve yılmazlık ölçeği toplam puan ortalaması sırası ile 19,88± 1,428; 130,24±24,196; 194,49±39,476 idi. Yılmazlık ölçeğinin alt boyutlarına bakıldığında güçlü olma ve iyimser olma alt boyutunun yaşlı bakım programı öğrencilerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı görülmüştür(p&amp;lt;0,05). Ayrıca aile tipi geniş aile olan öğrencilerin yılmazlık ölçeğinin araştırmacı olma alt boyutu istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmuştur(p&amp;lt;0,05) Öğrencilerin yılmazlık ölçeği ile yaşlılara yönelik tutumları arasında pozitif yönde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark görülmüştür. Sonuç: Yaşlı birey ile çalışacak öğrencilerin psikolojik sağlamlıklarının güçlendirilmesi bireyin yaşlı bireye olan tutumunu destekleyeceği için bakım kalitesini artıracaktır.

Rol Oynama ve Yaşlı Simülasyon Kıyafetinin Yaşlılara Karşı Empati ve Olumlu Tutum Üzerindeki Etkisi

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of role playing alone and role playing and simulation with aged simulation suit together on empathizing with the older people, and positive attitudes towards them among nursing and medical students.Methods: The study was carried out in the pre-test post-test experimental design, with e participation of 64 nursing and medical students. All students were given a course on empathizing with the older people; and students were asked to fill out the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and Kogan's Attitude Towards Older People Scale. Then the experimental group used an aged simulation suit (n: 34). After putting on the aged simulation suit the students fulfilled a set of tasks that were focused on three scenarios related to activities of daily life (nutrition, physical activity, going to the bathroom, etc.). After completing the tasks, the students were asked to fill out the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and Kogan's Attitude Towards Older People Scale again. Later, in-depth interviews were held with students through a semi-structured interview form. The quantitative data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) and SAS software (Version 9.3; PROC MIXED SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Qualitative data analysis was performed with MAXQDA software (version 12). Themes and codes were specified for content analysis. The Shapiro-Wilks test was conducted to examine the normal distribution of variables, and descriptive statistics, independent sample t test or Mann-Whitney U Test were utilized for data analyses. Statistical significance was accepted at p&amp;lt;0.05.Results: The mean empathy scores of both of the nursing and medical students differed between the experimental and control groups. The post-intervention scores significantly increased in both of the experimental and control groups compared to pre-intervention scores. The changes in the mean older people attitude scores of the students varied regarding the school and the study groups. a In the interviews the students expressed that they could feel the physical incapability of the older people with the aged simulation suit and they experienced the emotional aspect of empathy further in role playing. Students stated that positive changes might occur in their behavior towards the older people by the end of the course. Conclusions: The findings of the study suggest that role playing alone and role playing, and aged simulation suit together support each other in terms of showing positive attitudes and empathic approach to the older people.

The Effect of Teaching Fundamentals of Geriatric Life on Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes toward Aging

Introduction: Nurses are always involved with caring for elderly patients. They need to increase their knowledge and skills in the field of aging to provide effective care to elderly patients. Moreover, attitudes of nurses affect the quality of care for elderly people. Some interventions such as education are effective tools for improving nurses' knowledge and attitudes to better understand the problems of the elderly. The present study aims at determining the effect of teaching fundamentals of geriatric life on nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward aging. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest with control group study. It was performed on 91 nurses working in Meybod (44 nurses) and Ardakan Hospitals (47 nurses). Training sessions on fundamentals of geriatric life were conducted for the experimental group. The training program consisted of five training sessions in the field of geriatrics . Data collection instruments included: Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz, and Kogan's Attitude Toward Older People Scale, which were completed three times before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention for both groups. Results: There was no significant difference in knowledge between the two groups before the intervention (p = 0.792). Yet, the knowledge score immediately and two months after the intervention showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p &lt; 0.01). The mean score of attitude before intervention was no significant difference between groups (p = 0.069). However, there was a significant difference in attitude score immediately and two months after the intervention between the experimental and control groups (p &lt; 0.01). Conclusion: Teaching fundamentals of geriatric nursing to nurses improved their knowledge and attitudes toward the problems and needs of the elderls. Using retraining courses in the field of aging is recommended for nurses.

Analysis of factors influencing the attitudes towards the elderly of nursing students based on empathy and end-of-life care: A cross-sectional study.

AimThis study aimed to explore the factors associated with attitudes towards the older adults among nursing students, to clarify the impact of empathy and end‐of‐life care on the attitude of the older adults, and to provide a basis for the follow‐up of education courses related to older adults care and the training of older adults care talents.DesignA cross‐sectional study.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards older adults was conducted from 24 December 2020–24 February 2021. The Chinese versions of the end‐of‐life Attitudes Scale, Jefferson Empathy Scale‐Nursing Version and Kogan Attitudes Scale for the Elderly were used for this cross‐sectional study. We used the purposive sampling method to conduct a questionnaire survey on nursing students at Heilongjiang Nursing College (n = 371, effective response rate: 64.52%).ResultsThe average score of FATCOD‐B was 99.04 (7.71), and the score of C‐JSE‐HPS was 100.67 (12.90). The total average score of nursing students' attitudes towards older adults was 139.91 (15.79). The hierarchical regression analysis showed that education (β = −.125, p = .025) and personal experience (β = −.132, p = .008) correlated negatively with attitudes towards the older adults, while the end‐of‐life care (β = .140, p = .013) and empathy (β = .285, p < .001) correlated positively with attitudes towards the older adults.ConclusionsReligion, end‐of‐life care and empathy were positively correlated with nursing students' attitudes towards older adults. It is necessary to set up end‐of‐life care, empathy and education related to the older adults, and combine a variety of training forms, increasing humanistic assessments and reducing the employment pressure on nursing students by relevant departments can improve their attitudes towards the older adults.

Empathy as a Factor Conditioning Attitudes towards the Elderly among Physiotherapists-Results from Poland.

Attitudes of healthcare workers towards the elderly significantly affect the quality of care dedicated to this group of patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the approach of Polish physiotherapists to the elderly and to analyze the factors influencing these attitudes. The study was based on a cross-sectional Internet-based survey that was conducted in the period from May to September 2021. It was completed by 252 subjects: 189 women and 63 men. The study was based on the involvement of physiotherapists with the right to practice their profession in accordance with the law in force in Poland. The tools used in the study were The Kogan Attitudes towards the Elderly (KAOP) score and The Jefferson Empathy Scale (JSE). To model the KOAP score as a function of the predictors, Bayesian linear regression was used. The average KOAP score in the sample was M (SD) = 100.7 (17.46), with the central 50% of the observations ranging from 81 to 113 points. We observed one statistically credible relationship: relevance of contacts with elderly people was positively and moderately related to KOAP. Additionally, we observed that the JSE scale was positively, but very weakly, associated with KOAP. Empathy and own experience of health care providers may protect against negative attitudes towards the elderly, meaning empathy in healthcare professionals is crucial.