Association of Nurses’ Sociodemographic and Professional Characteristics with Positive Ageism Toward Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Although older adults can suffer from positive ageism as well as negative ageism and despite both forms being associated with negative health outcomes, positive ageism has received little attention from nursing researchers. In Middle Eastern culture, positive ageism may be misperceived by nurses as empathy or sympathy. This descriptive study was conducted on a convenience sample of 317 nurses caring for older adults and working in public and university-affiliated hospitals in Jordan, and the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) was used to measure the nurses’ positive ageism towards older adults. The results indicated that most nurses had positive ageism towards older adults, and that their ageism was significantly associated with their marital status, level of education, type of hospital they worked at, and number of older adults living in the same household. The study findings have several implications for clinical practice. Further research is needed to investigate positive ageism and its associated factors and to develop effective interventions targeting this problem. Further, there is a need to develop interventions aimed at educating nurses and changing their ageist attitudes and behaviors towards older adults.