The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of an ageism education program for increasing nurses' knowledge of the physical symptoms of aging and making their attitudes toward older people more positive. All nurses used in the study (N=40) worked in a large local nursing home.
The study utilized a two-group pretest/posttest design in which half of the sample of the sample of nurses were randomly assigned to the intervention (the experimental group) and half of the sample were randomly assigned to a waiting list (the control group). Prior to the intervention, all nurses completed
A two group pretest/posttest experimental design was used for this study. All subjects (N=40) were nurses who completed a voluntary sign-up sheet posted at nurses' desks in a large local nursing home. Once 40 nurses signed the sheet, 20 were randomly assigned to the experimental condition (nurses exposed to the intervention) and 20 were randomly assigned to the control condition (nurses not exposed to the intervention but merely kept on the waiting list).
Prior to initiation of the intervention, both groups of nurses completed the Knowledge of Physical Aging Questionnaire which measured the degree to which they correctly recognized the physical signs of aging. Nurses also completed a Semantic Differential measuring the degree to which they held positive attitudes toward older people. Following the intervention both groups of nurses again completed the two test instruments.
Findings of the study revealed that the ageism education program increased nurses' knowledge of the physical symptoms of aging but did not make their attitudes toward older people more positive.
Ageism, a systematic stereotyping of discrimination against people based on age, has long been a problem in the United States (Kimmel, 1988) as well as many other countries (Craft, 1993). Even older people themselves sometimes believe negative societal myths ab...