Reliability and validity of Turkish version of attitudes toward old people scale

The impact of scenario-based aging simulation experience on empathy, attitudes toward and willingness to work with older adults in health sciences senior year students: A randomized controlled trial

AIM

This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of scenario-based aging simulation experience (SBASE) on students' empathy, attitudes toward and willingness to work with older adults.

BACKGROUND

Innovative teaching strategies such as SBASE have the potential to provide students with the essential skills required for working with older adults.

DESIGN

This study has a randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

This study was conducted in west of Turkiye with 120 health sciences senior year students (45 nursing students, 54 medicine students and 21 physical therapy and rehabilitation students) in 2022-2023. The students were randomly assigned to intervention or control group (IG-CG). The IG received SBASE. Pre- and post-tests (after intervention, 1 and 3 months later) were conducted. Data were collected using the descriptive characteristics form, Kogan's attitudes toward old people scale, basic empathy scale and willingness to work with elderly people scale.

RESULTS

The IG participants recorded statistically better scores regarding positive attitudes towards older adults, in terms of the group x time interaction (t: 2.521, p: 0.036). However, there was no significant difference in the variables investigated between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

SBASE appeared to be effective in improving health sciences students' positive attitudes towards older adults. Health care providers should have a more positive attitude toward older adults to improve levels of care.

DATA AVAILABILITY

Data and supplementary material related to this article can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.

Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Version of Kogan's Attitude toward Older People Scale (KAOP)

It is essential to understand the behavior and attitudes of nurses towards older people to improve clinical practice and quality of care in the gerontological sector. A clearer understanding of the attitudes that drive nurses toward the desire to work with older people would be a good starting point to encourage the development of positive and nurturing attitudes. A cross-sectional study with non-probabilistic sampling and a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among 381 nursing students of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Castilla La-Mancha to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish Version of the Kogan's Attitudes Towards Older People Scale (KAOP-S). Construct validity, internal consistency, and reliability were assessed. In total, 298 females and 83 males completed the questionnaires. Their mean age was 20.42 years. The results revealed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.75 for the scale, which is comparable with other published versions of the KAOP Scale. The results of the exploratory factor analysis established that the scale has a two-factor solution and an explained variance of 25% in the sample. The KAOP-S was found to be a reliable and valid tool with good content and construct validity for assessing nursing students' attitudes towards older people.

Turkish validity and reliability of the lifestyle questionnaire related to cancer

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to adapt the lifestyle questionnaire related to cancer in Turkish and investigate its validity and reliability.

METHODS

This methodological study was conducted on 1,196 participants. Cronbach's α was used to assess validity and reliability. The internal consistency was evaluated using item-total correlation.

RESULTS

The normed chi-square in this study was 5.87. The root mean square error of approximation was calculated as 0.051. The comparative fit index and the Tucker-Lewis Index were 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. The split-half method was used to test the reliability of the scale (Part 1 Cronbach's α: 0.826, Part 2 Cronbach's α: 0.812, and Adjusted Cronbach's α: 0.881).

CONCLUSION

The Turkish version of lifestyle questionnaire related to cancer (8 subscales, 41 items) is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate lifestyle behaviors related to cancer in adults.

Empathy and Attitude upon An Aged Body: Aged Simulation Suit Among Undergraduate Physiotherapy Students

Background and Purpose: When empathy and attitude levels of health professionals are high, patient compliance and satisfaction are increased. The purpose of this study was to assess the empathy and attitude levels of undergraduate physiotherapy students towards older people before and after wearing the aged simulation suit by performing pre-defined related scenarios. Methods: The aged simulation suit was put on 63 students to complete the pre-defined scenarios, which included reading, eating, walking, and sitting to determine the experiences and emotions of students via semi-structured questions and interviews. The empathy and attitude levels were evaluated using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Students (JSE-HPS) version and Kogan's Attitudes Towards Old People (KAOP) scales at baseline and immediately after performed scenarios. Results: The scores of the JSE-HPS and its sub-scales, including "perspective-taking" (p=0.000) and "compassionate care" (p=0.008), were significantly improved, while "standing in patient's shoes" was significantly decreased after the intervention (p=0.005). KAOP positive items were found to be higher compared to the baseline results (p=0.040). Besides, 87.1% of the students stated that their behavior towards older people would change positively. Conclusion: Using aged simulation suits may be an effective educational technique that positively contributes to undergraduate physiotherapy students' attitudes and empathy.

Recognition for a black couple in a mock silver alert: Comparing couples presented together or separately with or without glasses

Demographic trends indicate an increasing elderly population accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). These trends are likely to result in increasing numbers of elderly individuals who wander away from home or care facilities. There is limited research on the efficacy of systems for alerting the public about missing elderly individuals, such as Silver Alerts (SA). Previous research on SAs was limited to alerts featuring White senior citizens. The present study is the first to extend SA research to Black senior citizens. A sample of college students (N = 210) viewed a mock SA along with a short video of a "missing" couple and later attempted to recognize the two individuals from a series of photos. The male and female targets were shown in the SA either together or separately and with or without glasses, and participants were shown photos with and without glasses. The results indicated no effect of whether the couple was shown together or separately, but participants were more likely to recognize the missing male without glasses when he had been shown without glasses in the SA. The female target was recognized more often when wearing glasses than when not wearing glasses, irrespective of how she had been shown in the SA. The results suggest that the appearance of the target at encoding and at recognition may affect ability to identify the target, but that such effects may depend on individual characteristics.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02531-8.

Expressions of self-ageism in four European countries: a comparative analysis of predictors across cultural contexts

Self-ageism has a significant negative impact on older people's ageing experiences and health outcomes. Despite ample evidence on cross-cultural ageism, studies have rarely looked into the way cultural contexts affect self-ageism. In this article, we compare expressions of self-ageism and its possible predictors across four European countries based on two questionnaires in a study sample of 2,494 individuals aged 55 and older. We explore how predictors of self-ageism are moderated by cultural values in a comparative fixed-effects regression model. We empirically show that similarly to ageism, self-ageism is not present in the same way and to the same extent in every country. Moreover, the level to which cultures value hierarchy and intellectual autonomy significantly moderates the association between self-ageism and individual predictors of self-ageism. Our study adds to the small existing body of work on self-ageism by confirming empirically that certain expressions of self-ageism and individual predictors are susceptible to change in different cultural contexts. Our research results suggest that self-ageism interventions may benefit from a culturally sensitive approach and imply that more culturally diverse comparisons of self-ageism are necessary to figure out fitting ways to reduce self-ageism.

Factors affecting nursing students' intention to work as a geriatric nurse with older adults in Turkey: A cross-sectional study

The need for nurses specialized in geriatrics continues to increase with the aging world population. However, nurses and nursing students mostly do not consider geriatric nursing as a possible career in nursing. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence such a career preference is crucial to encourage geriatric nursing. The current study is cross-sectional and aims to investigate nursing students' intention to work as a geriatric nurse with older adults and the factors influencing those intentions. A total of 688 nursing students enrolled in the second, third, and fourth-years of the Bachelor of Nursing program in two universities were recruited. Data were collected using a questionnaire form developed by the researchers and the Kogan Attitude toward Old People Scale. Results indicated correlations between the fourth year in the program, living with older adults, taking a separate course on geriatric health, experience in providing care for older adults, and evaluating geriatric nursing as a possible career in nursing (P < 0.05). Additionally, the study demonstrated that students avert from a career in geriatric nursing due to the lack of knowledge and skills and negative experiences during internships and practice. In conclusion, nursing programs should include courses designed to focus on gerontology to improve nurse students' willingness to work with older adults.

Daily life activities simulation: Improving nursing students' attitudes toward older patients

AIM

This study aims to evaluate the effects of daily life activities simulation on the attitudes of first-year nursing students toward older adults within the scope of geriatric nursing.

METHODS

The study was carried out using a pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design. First-year undergraduate students (N = 119) of a nursing faculty constituted the study sample. The students were divided into two groups as intervention and control groups. The intervention group performed the daily life activities simulation. Data were collected by using Kogan's Attitudes Towards old People Scale (KAOP) and Positive and Negative Ageism Scale (PNAS). SPSS Ver. 22.00 software was used for statistical analysis. Chi-square test, and t test were used for comparative statistics.

RESULTS

Most of the participants were female, and mean age was 20.96 ± 3.24. Intergroup comparison of the KAOP and PNAS scores reveals a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores for the simulation group (p ˂ .05). The posttest KOAP and PNAS scores of the simulation and control groups were statistically significantly different (p ˂ .05).

CONCLUSION

Daily life activities simulation is an effective method to improve nursing students' positive attitudes toward older adults. Participant feedback from our study shows that the simulation increased empathy and awareness of geriatric nursing.

Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Fraboni scale of ageism: evidence from medical students sample

BACKGROUND

The increasing of older adults has led to enormous demand for medical care. However, as a group with unique needs and characteristics, older adults are often discriminated against in the medical field. In this paper, we aimed to translate the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) into Chinese and examine its construct validity, content validity, and reliability in Chinese mainland medical students. In order to evaluate the prevalence of ageism in Chinese medical students and prompt medical college to adopt necessary teaching methods to mitigate ageism in medical students.

METHODS

By Brislin's translation guidelines, FSA was translated to Chinese. The convenient sampling method was used to select samples for this survey, including 1,974 students from two medical schools in central and north China. Construct validity was verified by the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The content validity index (CVI) was used to assess content validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to estimate reliability.

RESULTS

The alpha coefficients for FSA (Chinese version) was 0.81 and ICC was 0.87. The CVI was 0.93. Three factors were identified by exploratory factor analysis explaining 34.84% of the total variance and a three-factor model was confirmed to fit by confirmatory factor analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

FSA (Chinese version) is a reliable and valid scale for measuring discrimination degree against older adults in Chinese medical students.

A systematic review of existing ageism scales

Ageism has been shown to have a negative impact on older people's health and wellbeing. Though multiple scales are currently being used to measure this increasingly important issue, syntheses of the psychometric properties of these scales are unavailable. This means that existing estimates of ageism prevalence may not be accurate. We conducted a systematic review aimed at identifying available ageism scales and evaluating their scope and psychometric properties. A comprehensive search strategy was used across fourteen different databases, including PubMed and CINAHL. Independent reviewers extracted data and appraised risk of bias following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines. Of the 29,664 records identified, 106 studies, assessing 11 explicit scales of ageism, were eligible for inclusion. Only one scale, the 'Expectations Regarding Aging' met minimum requirements for psychometric validation (i.e., adequate content validity, structural validity and internal consistency). Still, this scale only assesses the 'stereotype' dimension of ageism, thus failing to evaluate the other two ageism dimensions (prejudice and discrimination). This paper highlights the need to develop and validate a scale that accounts for the multidimensional nature of ageism. Having a scale that can accurately measure ageism prevalence is key in a time of increasing and rapid population ageing, where the magnitude of this phenomenon may be increasing.

The Arabic version of the Kogan Attitudes toward Older People Scale among Saudi nursing students: a psychometric analysis

BACKGROUND

With the steadily increasing size of its elderly popu.lation, Saudi Arabia is currently trying to meet the demands for com.petent care for older people. However, the lack of a valid and reliable measurement instrument in the Arab Peninsula hinders related studies among nursing students in this part of the globe. Given the importance of nursing students' attitudes toward working with older people, a specialized tool that can provide an accurate assessment of students' attitudes toward older adults is necessary.

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the psychometric properties of the Kogan Attitudes towards Older People Arabic version (KAOP-A) among Saudi nursing students.

DESIGN

Descriptive, cross-sectional.

SETTING

Nursing department of a government university.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Using total population sampling, Saudi nursing students were surveyed using the KAOP-A. The tool was culturally adapted to the Arabic language using a forward and backward method. Content and construct validity were established accordingly. The internal consistency was established to support the reliability of the tool.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The validity and reliability of the KAOP-A.

SAMPLE SIZE

164 nursing students.

RESULTS

The KAOP-A had acceptable content and construct valid.ity. The Exploratory Factor Analysis supported a two-factor solution for the KAOP-A with an explained variance of 60.12%. The computed Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was 0.89. The mean score of the KAOP-A scale was 121.55 (SD=26.92, range=40-204), indicating a slightly positive attitude toward aging among the students. Nursing students belonging to extended type of family and living in rural community, as well as older students and students who reported higher degree of closeness with their grandparents, exhibited more positive attitudes towards older people.

CONCLUSION

The tool can be used to accurately assess student attitudes towards older people, which can inform the creation of educational policies and interventions geared towards creating a more positive outlook on older adult care among nursing students in Saudi Arabia.

LIMITATIONS

We did not perform test and re-test reliability analysis.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None.

Identification of nursing students' attitudes toward older people

OBJECTIVES

The present study aims to identify nursing students' attitudes toward older people.

METHODS

This descriptive study was conducted with 166 nursing department students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate programme in a university located in Eastern Turkey. The participants were chosen using convenience sampling method, and data were collected through the Descriptive Characteristics Form and Turkish version of Kogan's Attitudes toward Older People Scale (KAOPS).

RESULTS

It was found that the students participating in the study had positive attitudes toward older people, and the mean scores of those who wanted to work with older people after graduation were significantly high (p < 0.05). Scale mean scores according to receiving gerontology nursing course showed that there were no significant differences between the groups who received gerontology nursing course and who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that nursing students' attitudes toward older people were positive. Cultural features of the region where the study was conducted are considered to have effects on this result. Impact statement: As nursing students will provide care to older people in the future, it is important to know and assess their attitudes towards the older.

Undergraduate nurse attitudes toward older adults and perceptions of working with older adults: an analysis of measurement instruments

BACKGROUND

An undergraduate nurse's attitude toward older adults or their perception of working with older adults can influence the quality of care provided and their career choice, respectively. As such, it is important to conduct research that contributes to the evaluation of attitudes and perceptions. In the conduct of comprehensive and rigorous research, it is necessary to make the right choice of an instrument to measure outcomes. The identification of a valid and reliable instrument to suit a specific research question is a complex process.

OBJECTIVE

In order to deal with this complexity, this paper reviews instruments that have been used to measure undergraduate nurse attitudes toward older adults and their perceptions of working with older adults.

DATA SOURCES

Data were sourced from Medline, CINAHL, Healthsource/Academic Edition, PsycINFO and PubMed for the years 2008-2013.

RESULTS

Eight readily available instruments were identified and their characteristics analyzed for their purpose, number of items, design, reliability and validity. The strengths and weaknesses of each of the instruments and recent use are also discussed.

CONCLUSION

The choice of a suitable instrument is likely to be critical to the testing of intervention strategies such as curriculum activities, which target attitude improvements to enhance the quality and effectiveness of nursing care provided to older adults.

The evaluation of undergraduate nurses' attitudes, perspectives and perceptions toward older people

OBJECTIVES

This literature review was undertaken to evaluate undergraduate nurses' attitudes and perspectives toward older people and perceptions of working with older people. The objectives were to (1) identify if undergraduate nurses hold positive or negative attitudes and perspectives toward older people and perceptions of working with older people, and (2) determine if positive attitudes, perspectives and perceptions can be established, maintained and improved with curriculum activities.

DESIGN

Literature review.

DATA SOURCES

For the period 2008-2013, the literature search included an electronic database search (Medline, CINAHL, Healthsource/Academic Edition, PsycINFO and PubMed) and a hand search of reference lists of the papers included.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of 32 studies revealed that undergraduate nurses' attitudes, perspectives and perceptions are positive and it is recommended that this be the starting point for the development of curriculum activities and future research to maintain and improve this result. Finally, the limitations of recent studies are identified and a research agenda for future studies is proposed.

Attitudes of Turkish Nursing and Medical Students Toward Elderly People

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of nursing and medical students toward older people in Turkey. Method: This was a cross-sectional and comparative descriptive study. The Turkish version of Kogan’s Old People Scale was used to evaluate attitudes toward older people among 618 students. Results: Medical students showed more positive attitudes toward older people than nursing students. Students who were females, whose economic income was less than expenditure, and who were not interested in working with older people after graduation showed less positive attitudes. Conclusion: The results suggested that positive attitudes toward older people exist; despite this, it is obvious that more efforts are required to enhance these attitudes. Implications for Practice: Revision and improvement in curricula are needed to enhance the attitudes of students toward older people, and lecturers in schools should further consider the need to prepare students for their roles as caregivers for this particular group.

Validation of the Dutch version of the itching cognitions questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Dutch itching cognitions questionnaire (ICQ). This by origin German questionnaire, the Juckreiz Kognitons Fragebogen consists of two subscales: catastrophizing and helpless coping and problem-focused coping, and measures itch-related coping. The results were compared with the German and Japanese validation studies. The Dutch ICQ was completed by 171 patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases. Reliability was evaluated by determining internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, and item-total correlation. Cronbach's alpha was .90 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and .81 (problem-focused coping). The mean inter-item correlations for the subscales were .48 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and .30 (problem-focused coping). The item-total correlations range from .57 to .76 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and from .32 to .57 (problem-focused coping). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the model and support construct validity. Concurrent validity was determined by examining correlations of the ICQ with intensity of itching and scratching, depression, and anxiety. The correlations of the subscale catastrophizing and helpless coping with intensity of itching and intensity of scratching are .28 (p < .01) and .32 (p < .01), respectively. The correlation between the subscale problem-focused coping and intensity of itching is .23 (p < .01). No significant correlation exists between problem-focused coping and intensity of scratching. Correlations between both subscales and anxiety and depression vary from .33 to .58 (p < .01). It was concluded that the Dutch version of the ICQ is a reliable and valid instrument.