From Ageism to Age Equality: Addressing the Challenges ...

Postal Survey of AttitudesWe conducted a postal survey of professional staff in the health and social services sector acrossIreland. The target population for this attitudinal assessment of ageism was any member of staffwho, through their working capacity, came into contact with older people on a regular basis. Thesample frame for the research included professional staff in the acute hospital sector, the communityhospital sector and the primary care/community sector. Departments including Children’s Servicesand Gynaecology and Obstetrics were deemed ineligible for inclusion given their infrequent contactwith older people. Of the 95,679 health service providers included on the Department of Health andChildren Personnel Census of 2002, it was estimated that 70 per cent came into contact with olderpeople on a regular basis. Therefore the target population was n=66,975 approximately. The desiredsample size for the attitudinal assessment of ageism was 2,250 health service providers. This originalsample requirement was stratified according to health board area and employment grouping on thebasis of published employment figures from the Department of Health Personnel Census for 2002.34A process of consultation with health board CEOs and Directors of Services for Older People was theninitiated to acquire personnel details against those target figures identified above. On the basis ofinformation returned to the research team, 1,182 health service staff formed the eventual sampleframe for the study. From the sample frame N=1,182 stratified quota sampling was further appliedto the lists to identify 832 staff to whom postal questionnaires were issued while the remaining 250staff on the lists were invited to attend round-table discussions. Of the 832 staff sent questionnaires,698 completed returns. The response rate to the postal questionnaire was 84 per cent. Those whoattended the discussion groups were also provided with an opportunity to complete thequestionnaires and 128 staff availed of this opportunity. As a result, the overall sample size for thequestionnaire was 826.The survey questionnaire included questions from the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), a scale thathas been used and tested elsewhere and found to be a valid and reliable measure of ageist attitudes.Workshops with Health and Social Services StaffFrom the original contact list of eligible staff we invited 250 to attend semi-structured round-tablediscussions. If a member of staff was unable to or did not wish to attend, a replacement of the samegrade and from the same location was substituted. We held two workshops, each in a differentlocation, within each health board area. 7Between 6 and 19 staff from each of a range of disciplines attended each discussion session; totalattendance was 150. The purpose of these groups was to gather qualitative, in-depth data on theviews and attitudes of staff working with older people. We posed the following questions in thesesessions:do older people access healthcare as quickly as other patients?do older people receive the same quality of care as younger patients?We also explored the nature and impact of organisational factors on the service provided to olderpeople.7 With the exception of the SHB area where a single discussion group in one location was requested, and the ERHA areawhere a bespoke workshop was held with medical students, house officers and registrars in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.Conference Proceedings