Healthcare assistants’ attitudes towards older people and their knowledge about ageing
Alice Coffey Lecturer, Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Ireland
Noreen Whitehead Staff nurse, Community Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland
Alice Coffey and Noreen Whitehead’s statistical analysis following a survey of staff shows the importance of training on the quality of care older people receive
Aim To examine healthcare assistants’ (HCAs) attitudes towards older people in long-term care settings and their knowledge of ageing.
Method A survey was conducted with a convenience sample of HCAs in three long-term care settings in the Republic of Ireland.
Results Overall, positive attitudes towards older people were found and there was a relationship between greater knowledge about ageing and more positive attitudes.
Conclusion Health services face challenges as a result of changing population demographics and nursing shortages. Continuing education in practice is important and nurses should lead innovations in education for HCAs.
Nursing Older People.
27, 1, 24-30.
doi: 10.7748/nop.27.1.24.e665
Correspondence
a.coffey@ucc.ie
Peer review
This article has been subject to double blind peer review
Conflict of interest
None declared
Received: 26 November 2014
Accepted: 16 December 2014
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