Barriers to educating the elderly patients from the perspectives of the nurses in the hospital of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in 2014

The need for education is the most basic of human needs، and this is more pronounced in the elderly patients. Evidence suggests that older patients are usually not given adequate training. The aim of this study was to investigate the barriers to the education of the elderly patients، hospitalized in the teaching hospitals of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences from the view points of nurses. In this cross-sectional study. a total of 50 nurses working in the surgical wards and 50 elderly patients، were selected. Data was collected through interviews and questionnaires and using descriptive statistics and independent t-tests، Pearson and Spearman were analyzed. The mean age of the elderly patients was 67. 12 ± 6. 53 and for nurses it was 29. 04 ± 3. 94، respectively. In the area of ​​patient-related barriers to learning، from the perspective of nurses، physical disadvantage of the older patients (64%)، and low literacy and illiteracy among older patients (70%) and in the area of ​​educational barriers shortage of the nursing staff was seen as a major barrier to the elderly patients'' education. Considering the association of the two perspectives on barriers to educating the elderly patients، improving the quality of training programs in the elderly patients require action by the board of directors. Also، adding to the nursing workforce، establishing specific duties for patient education and teaching communicative methods، especially with the older patients seem necessary.