USING A GERONTIC BASED COURSE TO CHANGE THE ATTITUDES OF REGISTERED NURSE STUDENTS TOWARD OLDER ADULTS.
Contributors: University of Connecticut.
Published: 1983
Number of pages: 122
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if a course which introduces a gerontic nursing focus would reduce the stereotypic attitudinal responses toward older adults of registered nurse students in a baccalaureate nursing program. Additionally, the relationship between self concept attitudes toward older adults was studied.

Sixty registered nurse students were equally divided into control and experimental groups. The Tuckman-Lorge Attitude questionnaire was administered as a pre and posttest to each group while the Tennessee Self Concept Scale will be administered as a pretest. Experimental group participants were exposed to a fifteen week course entitled "Nursing 412". The first null hypothesis:.

(1) There will be no significant difference between mean scores of attitudes toward older adults for registered nurse students after receiving a gerontic focused course, when controlling for pretest and self concept at the p (LESSTHEQ) .05 level of significance.

was tested using the ANCOVA technique. The dependent variable was posttest scores. Independent variable levels were control and experimental groups. Pretest scores and self concept were covariates. The adjusted posttest mean of 51.40 (control) versus 32.64 (experimental) were tested and the obtained f value of 170.307 (p = 0.000) clearly indicated the efficacy of the course in developing more positive attitudes toward older adults.

For the second hypothesis:.

(2) There will be no significant relationship between attitudes toward older adults scores of students in the experimental group and self concept, at the p (LESSTHEQ) .05 level of significance.

a Pearson produce moment correlation coefficient was used. The dependent variable was posttest scores and the independent variable was self concept. The obtained correlation of r = .1993 was too small to reject the null hypothesis at the p (LESSTHEQ) .05 level of significance.

These findings suggest the need for: (1) providing curricula which integrate gerontics from a developmental and systems perspective and provides for direct clinical application with both healthy and ill older adults. (2) replication studies which explore the relationship of self concept and attitudes toward older adults in registered nurse students, using larger populations and additional instrumentation.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-09, Section: A, page: 2670.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, 1983.

School code: 0056.