A COMPARISON OF ELDERLY PATIENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH EDUCATION NEEDS AND NURSES' PERCEPTIONS OF ELDERLY PATIENTS' HEALTH EDUCATION NEEDS.
Contributors: University of Kansas.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 170
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Health.
Description: Hospitalized elderly patients need health education instruction to return home and independently manage their health. Nurses have a role in proving some of this education. This study described patients' and nurses' perceptions of the importance of health education needs and the influence of selected variables on these perceptions.

Fifty patients and 30 nurses were randomly selected from two midwestern hospitals. The patient sample included 15 males and 35 females. Forty-four patients were Caucasian and six were black or Hispanic. They ranged in age from 65 to 85 years. All the nurses were female. Seventeen nurses had a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and 13 had either a Diploma or Associate. Sixteen nurses were under 30 years of age while 14 were above 30. Twenty-five nurses were Caucasian and five were either black, Hispanic, or Oriental.

Nurses and patients were asked to rank order by importance the items of the Health Education Needs of the Elderly Questionnaire. Health education need categories included disease, medical treatment, home care, and community resources. Nurses' and patients' perceptions were compared by using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The Spearman rank order correlation co-efficient test was used to test the relationship between the patient's response to each question and the variables of ages, sex, income, and education and the nurse's response to each question and the variables of age, education, and the nurse's experiences with the elderly.

Some findings were significant beyond the p $<$.05 level. However, the number of non-applicable patients' responses affected the results. Definitive patterns were difficult to define. Some differences in nurses' and patients' perceptions of the importance of individual health education needs were found. A relationship between age, sex, income, and education of the patient, and patient perceptions of the importance of some individual health education needs, and a relationship between age, education and nurse's experiences with the elderly and the nurses' perceptions of the importance of some individual of health education needs also were found. Nurses should continue to study this area to describe patients' needs and to determine influencing variables to improve education of the elderly.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-10, Section: B, page: 2925.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 1987.

School code: 0099.