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Chapter 2: Literature Review
questionnaires (to nurses working in acute care for older people and acute medical
care) yielded 86 valid and completed questionnaires (57.7% response rate). The main
finding was that nurses working in acute care for older people had significantly
higher or more positive attitude scores than those working in acute medical care.
Hope (1994) suggested that this may be because nurses with a positive attitude
toward older people find themselves working with older people. Hope (1994) also
found that socialising forces within nursing may actually reinforce ageist attitudes
and that patient dependency may influence staff attitudes. However, this study is
over 10 years old and the sample size is small at n=86.
In addition to attitudes varying across countries and across care sectors, several
researchers have found that there are links between level of education of healthcare
staff and level of positive attitudes about older people (Doherty, Mitchell and
O’Neill, 2011; Mandy, Lucas and Hodgson, 2007; Wells et al., 2004; Huber, Reno
and McKenney, 1992). Wells et al. (2004) explored the prevalence of negative
attitudes regarding ageing amongst nurses working with older adults, and examined
factors such as education and work environment that may influence such attitudes.
Their aim was to document ageist attitudes and practices among aged care and health
services providers in Victoria, Australia. A questionnaire was developed for the
study through consultation with the project reference group and was pilot tested with
a small number of volunteers. The final questionnaire contained four sections:
demographic and personal data, the Facts on Aging Quiz, the Reactions to Aging
Questionnaire and the Practice Costs and Rewards Questionnaire (PCRQ: a 12-item
scale adapted for the study with statements that reflect practice rewards and other
statements that reflect practice costs). Two hundred and five nurses participated.
They found that nurses were more likely to hold positive attitudes if they worked for
a service provider rather than an employment agency, had gerontology education,
and/or worked outside the residential care sector, and that nurses had less accurate
knowledge of ageing than other healthcare professionals. They also found that nurses
expressed a higher anxiety about ageing and were more likely to believe that
working with older adults was associated with low esteem in the profession. The
researchers did not reveal how many questionnaires were originally distributed and
consequently we are unaware of the response rate.