Relationship Between the Attitudes of Nurses Towards Older People and their Compassion Levels

Abstract

This descriptive study was carried out to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of nurses working at a university hospital towards older people and their compassion levels. The sample of the study comprised 432 nurses working at a university hospital. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale, and the Compassion Scale. In the analysis of the data, frequencies, percentages, arithmetic mean values, tests for the significance of the difference between two mean values, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Pearson’s correlation test were used. The attitudes of the participants towards older adults were positive (47.18 ± 6.40), and their compassion levels were high (4.08 ± 0.41). There was a significant positive correlation between the participants’ mean scores on the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale and the Compassion Scale (r = 0.313). The participants had positive attitudes towards elderly individuals and high compassion levels. As the participants’ compassion levels increased, so did their mean University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale scores. Gender, length of service, working unit, status of living with an older person, and compassion were identified as predictors of University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale scores. The use of methods likely to increase compassion in nurses’ education and professional life may increase their perception of attitudes towards older age and thus ensure that older people receive quality healthcare.