Geriatric Hospital Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward the Aged and Geriatric Nursing Education Needs

노인병원 간호사의 노인에 대안 지식과 태도 및 노인간호 교육 필요도

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward the aged and geriatric nursing education needs in geriatric hospitals. Method: The research design was a descriptive study. Data was collected from 101 nurses working in five geriatric hospitals in D city using structured questionnaires. Result: The mean score of geriatric hospital nurses' knowledge toward the aged was 13.28. The mean score of geriatric hospital nurses' attitudes toward the aged was 79.14. The mean score of geriatric hospital nurses' nursing education needs was 4.00. The correlation between geriatric hospital nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward the aged showed a significant positive value(r=.396, p<.01). According to the above results, the nurses' knowledge toward the aged was high, the attitude was neutral, and the nursing education needs was high. Conclusion: There is a need to develop continuing education programs to increase knowledge and positive attitudes and to apply these programs routinely to maintain and reinforce the nurses' knowledge and attitudes.