Cameroonian nursing students’ attitudes towards older adults

Psychometric properties of the French version of the Kogan's Attitudes toward Older People scale: A cross-sectional study conducted on Cameroonian nursing students

To determine the psychometric properties of a French version of the KOP scale on Cameroonian French-speaking nursing students.

A cross-sectional study was conducted where a self-administered questionnaire in French was given to a convenience sample of 296 nursing students registered for three different nursing programs.

The French version of the KOP scale demonstrated moderate psychometric properties. The internal consistency, indicated by the Cronbach's alpha, was moderate, while the explanatory factor analysis showed two factor loadings, which explained 58.44% of the total variance.

CONCLUSION

The French version of the KOP scale can be a useful tool for studies in French-speaking African countries to assess the degree of ageism toward older adults. It is suggested that the original KOP scale be retranslated by African translators and administered to larger French-speaking populations in other countries.

Association between spirituality and attitudes toward older adults in nursing students: a cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to determine the correlation between spirituality and attitudes toward older adults among nursing students.

METHODS

The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. This study was conducted with nursing students in the nursing department of a university in Eastern Turkey. The study was completed with 366 nursing students. An information form, the Spirituality Scale, and Kogan's Attitudes toward Old People Scale were used.

RESULTS

The mean score of the Spirituality Scale was 104.18 ± 18.79, and the mean score of the Kogan's Attitudes toward Old People Scale was 99.11 ± 13.57. There was a small but significant correlation between spirituality and attitudes toward older adults (r = 0.342, p < 0.01). Moreover, the results indicated that spirituality is positive and significantly predicted attitudes toward older adults (β = 0.342, t = 19.495, p < 0.01) and explained 11.7% of the variance in attitudes toward older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

A small but significant correlation was found between spirituality and attitudes toward older adults. Further study on the causal relationship between spirituality and attitudes toward older adults among nursing students is necessary.

Gerontological nursing in Ghana: Preferences and perceptions of nursing students

Undergraduate nursing students in developed countries are reported to have poor perceptions and low preference for gerontological nursing. However, perceptions and preferences of undergraduate nursing students toward gerontological nursing in low-income countries have not been well explored. This study explored the perceptions and preferences of undergraduate nurses in Ghana toward gerontological nursing. A mixed method study design was used to explore Ghanaian undergraduate nursing students' perceptions and preferences for caring for older people. One hundred and seventy-four nursing students were surveyed and 30 of them were interviewed. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS version 27. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data to generate themes. Response rate in the study was 73%. The majority of participants (95.4%) were below the age of 29. Gerontological nursing was ranked as the least preferred nursing specialty among graduating undergraduate nurses. Poor perceptions and inadequate knowledge about the care of older people were largely responsible for the lack of preference for gerontological nursing. Improving undergraduate nursing students' knowledge about gerontological nursing is critical in correcting poor perceptions about gerontological nursing.