Attitudes toward older people among nursing students and registered nurses in Sweden.

Geriatric nursing is generally not considered to be a popular branch of nursing among Swedish nursing students and registered nurses. It is, therefore, important for nurse educators and others with responsibilities for the development of nursing to pay attention to trends of importance for the care of the elderly. Attitudes - conceptualized as feelings, knowledge, and readiness to act - may be one important factor. It has been reported that feelings toward older people may change with experience, age and gender. The aim of this study was to measure feelings toward older people among nursing students and registered nurses. A convenience sample of 151 undergraduate nursing students and 41 registered nurses in Sweden participated in the study. Data were collected through Kogan's Old People scale. The results confirmed earlier findings and showed that limited previous experience of care of older people, age <25 years, and male gender were significant factors for showing less favourable feelings towards the aged. In the education of nurses, goal-directed experience of elderly care is recommended in order to create positive feelings towards and interest in older people among students. It is also suggested that special considerations should be given to very young students and male students.

Reliability and validity of a Swedish version of Kogan's Old People Scale.

Standardized and well-tested instruments are needed in order to study attitudes toward old people. One scale that has been widely used is Kogan's Old People scale. A Swedish version of the scale has been available since 1987. The aim of this study was to test this Swedish version of the scale for reliability and validity, in a sample consisting of students and different health-care professionals. A convenience sample of 319 individuals in western Sweden took part in the study, and data were collected by means of a questionnaire that included the scale. Reliability was assessed as homogeneity and validity as construct validity. All but 4 of the 34 items were found to have significant item-total correlations. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.79. Some evidence of construct validity was found in a three-factor solution, which explained 30% of the variances. Strong evidence of construct validity was shown in the scale's capability to differentiate between individuals who rather preferred to work with old people (p < 0.005) than with young clients. Convergent validity, as a form of construct validity, was also supported for the scale.