Views of senior nursing students on the problems of the elderly during the covid-19 process and attitudes against ageism

Abstract

Background: Older adults, the prevalence of chronic diseases increase, depending on the physiological and psychological changes that occur with aging processes of maintenance issues in pandemic seems to be more important. Objectives: This study aims to examine the attitudes of senior nursing students regarding ageism as well as their views of the problems the elderly faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The present study is a mixed study with quantitative and qualitative dimensions and it was conducted in a nursing school in X. The quantitative part of the research was conducted with 75 senior students, 13 of whom were also included in the qualitative part of the study. Quantitative data were collected using the Introductory Information Form and the Ageism Attitude Scale and qualitative data using a semi-structured interview form. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests and content analysis were used. Results: It was found that the students’ attitudes toward the elderly were positive and their views of the elderly during the pandemic were distributed among the main themes of Vulnerable, Emotional Shake, Culture, and Iceberg. Conclusion: it is believed that it is important to ensure that health team members who will work with the older adults should be provided with an environment wherein they can provide care to the older adults in the first years of their education.