Attitudes of students of health sciences towards the older persons

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare attitudes towards the elderly of Turkish students of various disciplines in health sciences at the level of associate and bachelor degree. Methods: 685 students participated in this descriptive study. Data were collected with a questionnaire administered to the students and the Turkish version of Kogan's Attitudes Towards Old People Scale (KAOP). Statistical evaluation of the data was included in percentage, mean, median, t-test, and one-way variance analysis. Results: The average age of the students was 20.91 +/- 2.25 years, and mean and median scores of KAOP for these students were 131.21 +/- 14.403 and 130, respectively. The attitudes of physiotherapy students towards older people were better than students in other health disciplines (p < 0.05), and there were no differences in the attitudes of health science students towards the older persons in eastern and western cities of Turkey (p < 0.05). Discussion: The attitudes of the health science professionals of tomorrow towards older people should be evaluated currently to be able to improve the provision of health care standards and to prevent possible negative beliefs and opinions in the future