Attitudes of Turkish Nursing and Medical Students Toward Elderly People

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of nursing and medical students toward older people in Turkey. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional and comparative descriptive study. The Turkish version of Kogan's Old People Scale was used to evaluate attitudes toward older people among 618 students. RESULTS: Medical students showed more positive attitudes toward older people than nursing students. Students who were females, whose economic income was less than expenditure, and who were not interested in working with older people after graduation showed less positive attitudes. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that positive attitudes toward older people exist; despite this, it is obvious that more efforts are required to enhance these attitudes. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Revision and improvement in curricula are needed to enhance the attitudes of students toward older people, and lecturers in schools should further consider the need to prepare students for their roles as caregivers for this particular group.