Stereotypes about very old people and perceived societal appreciation in very old age

"The supreme discipline of Nursing"-A qualitative content analysis of nurses' opinions on caring for people eighty years of age and older

Introduction

Nurses often experience stress and feel under time pressure when working with older people, increasing their job dissatisfaction. Especially people 80 years of age and older often require more complex and a greater measure of care, as the risk of care dependency is higher in this age group. This study was conducted to collect nurses' experiences and opinions regarding the care of people 80 years of age and older, as well as to learn more about how nurses perceive this care.

Method

We analysed narratives collected in an Austrian nationwide, cross-sectional online study to investigate nurses' attitudes towards people 80 years of age and older and their perceptions regarding their care (N = 1197). Data were collected from May-October 2021 by using a convenience sampling method. In total, 149 participants filled in the free text field; these texts were analysed using a qualitative content analysis method.

Results

Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the nurses' narratives: (1) 'opinions on people in need of care', (2) 'reputation of nursing profession', and (3) 'criticism of current nursing practice'. Most narratives were assigned to the subthemes 'positive opinions on nursing', 'ideal image of nursing', and 'shortage of staff'.

Conclusion

Nurses considered their work with people aged 80 years and older to be meaningful and important, but they criticised working conditions which need to be improved. This could be achieved by offering further education and increasing nursing staff. Further research is needed to investigate nurses' needs and wishes regarding the care of people aged 80 years and older.

Perceptions of General Attitudes towards Older Adults in Society: Is There a Link between Perceived Life Satisfaction, Self-Compassion, and Health-Related Quality of Life?

Negative attitudes towards aging are common in society. However, few studies have investigated how older adults perceive this phenomenon. This study investigated (a) how older adults in Sweden perceive general attitudes towards the older population and whether negative perceptions are associated with low life satisfaction, self-compassion, and health-related quality of life (HRQL), and (b) whether perceived attitudes predict life satisfaction when controlling for HRQL, self-compassion, and age. The sample comprised 698 randomly selected participants, aged 66-102 years, from the Blekinge part of the Swedish National Study on Ageing and Care. The results showed that 25.7% of the participants held negative attitudes towards older adults and reported lower life satisfaction and HRQL. Self-compassion was related to higher life satisfaction, perceived positive attitudes, and better mental HRQL. Overall, perceived attitudes, HRQL, self-compassion, and age predicted 44% of the participants' life satisfaction. Understanding the factors that influence older adults' life satisfaction is crucial, as health-related losses might reduce the opportunity for a successful life. Our study makes an important contribution to the field, showing that perceived attitudes explained 1.2% of the variance of life satisfaction, whereas mental and physical HRQL accounted for 18% of life satisfaction.

Nurses' perspectives on caring for and attitudes towards adults aged eighty years and older

BACKGROUND

Adults aged 80 years and older form a vulnerable group regarding perceived ageism, because they are often stereotyped as being frail and dependent. Nurses often display biased behaviour and hold negative attitudes towards this age group, due to the fact that they have frequent contact with patients who need complex care. As this frequent contact can negatively influence the quality of care, we performed this study to assess nurses' attitudes towards adults aged 80 and older and their views regarding their care, as well as to identify factors that influence attitudes.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used. A convenience sample of 1179 Austrian nurses was taken, and their attitudes were measured using the Ageing Semantic Differential (ASD) Scale. Their views on caring for older adults were assessed with the Perspectives on Caring for Older People (PCOP) Scale. Multiple linear regression was used to examine factors that influence nurses' attitudes. The Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Graz (EK Number 31-320 ex 18/19) gave their ethical approval for this study.

RESULTS

Nurses display neutral to positive attitudes towards adults aged 80+ and view caring for them positively. Positive attitudes were indicated, for example, by the factors of a positive view towards the care of older patients, a higher education and a personal relationship with older adults. Negative attitudes were indicated by the factors of being female and interacting more frequently with older care receivers.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the nurses' attitudes were not negative, they should be encouraged to view this patient population more positively. Educational interventions to alter nurses' attitudes and thus to improve the quality of care are recommended. As the ASD measures some aspects of ageism, it is recommended to consider qualitative methods in future studies to obtain a deeper knowledge of ageism in nursing care.

Characteristics of desirable ambulatory health and oral healthcare from the perspective of community-dwelling people aged 80 and over-a qualitative examination

BACKGROUND

people aged 80 and over frequently have diverse and complex health trajectories, which has been well studied. But their oral health is seldom included in care models. To realise comprehensive healthcare, both general and oral ambulatory (i.e. outpatient) healthcare need to be explored and conceptualised equally.

OBJECTIVE

to elicit what matters to very old people regarding ambulatory health and oral healthcare.

METHODS

interviews were conducted with non-institutionalised people aged 80 and over living in the area of Cologne, Germany. They were interviewed regarding their experiences of and views on ambulatory healthcare and oral healthcare care, respectively. Thematic analysis was performed to understand their motives and elicit relevant characteristics of desirable health services.

RESULTS

from the interviews with 22 participants, 16 characteristics of good healthcare were described. These were generally similar for both general and oral healthcare and had a particular focus on patient-provider interaction and the organisation of care. However, regarding oral healthcare, the participants focused more strongly on the technical-medical skills of professionals and the perceptible treatment results and were more concerned about costs. It was noticeable that older people had the urge to differentiate themselves from 'others unnecessarily using health services'. They were unaware of possible future oral health deterioration and the resulting future needs.

CONCLUSIONS

characteristics of good health and oral healthcare from the perspective of older people should be incorporated to ensure patient-centredness in care models. Older patients, as well as healthcare providers, need to be sensitised to their oral health needs to realise comprehensive healthcare.

Age discrimination perceived by hospitalized older adult patients in Iran: A qualitative study

Background: The quality of care that older adult patients receive during hospitalization is directly associated with the perception, knowledge, and skills of the healthcare team. This qualitative study was conducted to explore the concept of age discrimination perceived by hospitalized older adult patients. Methods: The present exploratory qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants and the sampling continued until data saturation. A total of 21 individuals comprising of 12 hospitalized older adult patients, 5 family caregivers, 3 nurses, and a physician were enrolled in the study. Data were collected through 21 face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method as described by Elo and Kyngäs. Results: The analysis of the interview data resulted in 4 main categories, namely injustice perceptions, interactional injustice, procedural injustice, and organizational injustice. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicated that older adult patients perceive the occurrence of age discrimination by healthcare teams and inequalities in the provided care in hospitals. It is therefore important to address ageism and subsequent inequalities through short- and long-term policies and plans, as well as standardization and transformation of the present condition of hospitals to become an age-friendly environment.

[The flourishing life : Society, politics and the practice of old age]

Im abschließenden Beitrag stellen die Autor*innen das Konzept „gelingende Lebensführung“ in den Mittelpunkt. Die Kernergebnisse der vorhergehenden Beiträge werden zusammengefasst und im Rahmen einer kritischen Diskussion in dieses Konzept eingeordnet. Vor dem Hintergrund werden Empfehlungen für die politische und gesellschaftliche Gestaltung von Rahmenbedingungen formuliert, die einer gelingenden Lebensführung im sehr hohen Alter dienlich sind und sie fördern.