Correlation between attitude towards dental care for older adults and ageism in dental students and clinical trainees: Cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Since the needs for dental care among older adults in Japan are expected to increase in the future, this study aimed to examine the influence of ageism among dental students and clinical trainees on the attitude towards the older adults in dental care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In 2022, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 9th-, 11th-semester dental students and first-year clinical trainees enrolled at Kyushu Dental University, using the Japanese version of Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS-J), Japanese version of Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA-J). Questions on intention to provide dental care to the older adults, relationships with the older adults and living with the older adults were also surveyed.

RESULTS

There were 162 participants (84 males and 78 females), and the response rate was 71.7%. The participants were divided into the positive group for dental care to older adults (68 respondents) and the negative group (94 respondents). The ASDS-J score of the negative group was significantly higher than that of the positive group [49 (36-66) vs. 52 (34-88), p < .001]. The binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio of being negative attitude was 1.1 per one point of ASDS-J (95% confidence interval: 1.0-1.2) in the model adjusted for student grade, interaction with the older adults, gender, experience living with the older adults and FSA-J.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that ageism specific to dental students and clinical trainees (as assessed using the ASDS-J) was independently correlated with negative attitudes towards dental care for older adults.

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.

Does caring lead to stigmatisation? The perception of older people among healthcare professionals and the general population: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

It is well recognised that healthcare professionals are particularly at risk for developing a negative perception of older people. Indeed, in addition to receiving education centred on a biomedical view of ageing, they are constantly exposed to the most vulnerable and dependent older individuals.

AIM

The purpose of our study is to compare the perception of older people between health professionals, working in a nursing home and the general population.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. The perception of older people was measured using two different instruments: the image-of-ageing question and the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) scale. We performed t-test to compare the perception of older individuals between the general population and healthcare professionals.

RESULTS

The image-of-ageing question does not show any difference between the general population (n = 148) and healthcare professionals (n = 107). In these both groups, almost half of the words cited in reference to older individuals were negative. Concerning the ASD, results show that healthcare professionals have significantly more negative perceptions towards older individuals than the general population (with the control of age, gender and educational level).

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals seem to have a more negative view of older people than the general population. Their regular contact with the frailest older adults could explain this finding. Another hypothesis could be a non-optimal quality of contact in nursing homes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Such results highlight the importance to promote a more holistic view of ageing in educational programs of healthcare professional. Improving the quality of contact with nursing homes residents should be strongly considered to reduce ageism among healthcare professionals.

The psychometric properties, confirmatory factor analysis, and cut-off value for the Fraboni scale of ageism (FSA) in a sampling of healthcare workers

PURPOSE

The Fraboni scale of ageism (FSA) is one of the scales used to determine ageism, which is the expression of prejudice toward the elderly because of their age through attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this study is to determine the psychometric properties, factor analysis, and cut-off value for the FSA in a sampling of healthcare workers.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The sampling of this study was conducted methodologically in a descriptive and relationship-seeking type of research and comprised 814 healthcare workers employed at a university and state hospital.

FINDINGS

As a result of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, it was found that the FSA comprised 29 items and three subdimensions, that these three factors explain approximately 30.23% of the total variance, and that the cut-off value is 78.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

This study determined that the Turkish adaptation of the FSA is a suitable tool to measure the ageism of healthcare workers.

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.