Attitudes of Physicians, Nurses, and Social Workers Toward the Elderly and Health Maintenance Services for the Aged: Implications for Health Manpower Policy
The articles prior to January 2008 are part of the back file collection and are not available with a current paid subscription. To access the article, you may purchase it or purchase the complete back file collection here May Futrell; Wyatt Jones The neglect shown the elderly ill by professionals is a reflection of our general unwillingness to face problems that remain unsolvable or continue for long periods of time.1 Although interest and concern for the health and well-being of all persons over 65 seems to be growing, social enlightenment with regard to persons with long-term dependency or illness has not kept pace. Instead of focusing on an individual's ability to function, medicine, nursing, and social work still tend to look at the illness rather than the individual who has a problem. Health professionals have been characterized as holding little respect for geriatrics as a field of practice. This lack of respect is due partly to society's attitudes toward the elderly and the chronic, unsolvable nature of their problems. The socialization process of the professions does not encourage positive attitudes toward the elderly or toward the provision of health maintenance services for the aged. The lack of role models hinders the recruitment of qualified manpower for the specialized field of geriatrics. Furthermore, the professions are confused as to their role in caring for the elderly and to the health needs of the elderly. Abundant information about psychological, sociological, and physiological aspects of aging is available, but studies examining the attitudes of health personnel toward the elderly are limited. Nathan Kogan2 began preliminary exploration into the study of attitudes toward the elderly with the development of his "Old People Scales." Interestingly enough, his studies showed that college students who held unfavorable attitudes toward older people also showed negative dispositions toward ethnic minorities and a variety of physically disabled people. In addition, they displayed feelings of personal anomie. Lutz and Gaitz3 studied psychiatrists' attitudes toward the aged and aging on the premise that psychiatrists' feelings toward the process of aging in themselves and in others will affect their choice to become involved with older patients. Their study revealed that psychiatrists were reluctant to reveal much about their attitudes toward aging. Negative feelings most often expressed indicated impatience and boredom with the elderly and resentment of the physical and mental deterioration they exhibited. Statement of Problem Attitudes of professionals toward the aged and toward their health care have an effect on social policy decisions concerning the delivery of health maintenance services to the aged. To the extent that these attitudes are negative or apathetic they also have implications for health manpower policy. If professionals who serve as role-models for young people choosing careers, for students electing educational concentrations, and for young professionals entering new career lines are not enthusiastic about their work, then new qualified personnel are not attracted to the field in sufficient numbers. Schools, then, do not train students in these specialties and young professionals do not consider these in their choice of practice settings. Purposes of the Study 1. To ascertain from physicians, nurses, and social workers: (a) their general attitudes toward the aged; (b) their identification of health needs of the aged; (c) their attitudes toward the provision of health maintenance services to meet these identified needs; and (d) their general perceptions of utilization of personnel in health maintenance of the aged. 2. To determine if a relationship exists between personal characteristics and backgrounds of subjects (age, education and length of service); and their attitudes and perceptions with respect to the four measures identified above (a-d). The Study Design The study involves the examination and comparison of three samples - physicians, nurses, and social workers - in an urban community in terms of their attitudes toward the elderly and their perceptions of health maintenance services for the aged as measured by… 10.3928/0098-9134-19770501-10