Jang Insun, Oh Doonam, Kim Yeon Sook
Department of Nursing, Korean Bible University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Nursing, Hoseo University, Republic of Korea.
Int J Nurs Sci. 2019 Sep 6;6(4):426-431. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2019.09.004. eCollection 2019 Oct 10.
Elderly health care needs increase and nurses' role for elderlies is vital. It is significant to identify nursing students' intention to care for elderlies. Thus, this study investigated nursing students' willingness to care for elderlies in Korea and the United States.
The study was conducted with 437 undergraduate nursing students from Korea and the United States from May 25 to 31, 2018. Participants completed a survey including frequency and quality of contact, anxiety about aging, empathy, attitude toward elderly, and willingness to care.
Study findings from the entire group showed that nursing students' willingness to care for the elderly was positively associated with contact quality ( = 0.22, < 0.001) and empathy ( = 0.12, = 0.009) but negatively associated with anxiety about aging ( = -0.23, < 0.001) and attitude toward the elderly ( = -0.14, = 0.004). Contact quality ( = 0.30, < 0.001) was positively associated with the willingness to care in Korean students, whereas extended family living type ( = -0.15, = 0.012) and attitude toward the elderly ( = -0.18, = 0.005) negatively associated in US students.
This study suggested that nursing educators reinforce contact quality and empathy but reduce anxiety about aging and attitude toward elderly to enhance future nurses' care quality.
老年人的医疗保健需求不断增加，护士在照顾老年人方面的作用至关重要。确定护理专业学生照顾老年人的意愿具有重要意义。因此，本研究调查了韩国和美国护理专业学生照顾老年人的意愿。
2018年5月25日至31日，对来自韩国和美国的437名本科护理专业学生进行了研究。参与者完成了一项调查，内容包括接触的频率和质量、对衰老的焦虑、同理心、对老年人的态度以及照顾意愿。
整个研究组的结果表明，护理专业学生照顾老年人的意愿与接触质量（β = 0.22，P < 0.001）和同理心（β = 0.12，P = 0.009）呈正相关，但与对衰老的焦虑（β = -0.23，P < 0.001）和对老年人的态度（β = -0.14，P = 0.004）呈负相关。接触质量（β = 0.30，P < 0.001）与韩国学生的照顾意愿呈正相关，而在美国学生中，大家庭居住类型（β = -0.15，P = 0.012）和对老年人的态度（β = -0.18，P = 0.005）与照顾意愿呈负相关。
本研究表明，护理教育工作者应加强接触质量和同理心，但减少对衰老的焦虑和对老年人的态度，以提高未来护士的护理质量。
