Attitude of Nurses toward the Care of Elderly Patients with Delirium and the Infleuntial Factors in the Teaching Hospitals Affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences (2017)

  Nurses are one of the most important members of healthcare teams, who are directly responsible for the care of the elderly. Positive attitude toward the recipients of care plays a fundamental role in the provision of care. The quality of care provision to the elderly, especially those with delirium, is influenced by several factors, including the attitude of nurses toward this patient group. The present study aimed to assess the attitude of nurses toward the care of elderly patients with delirium in the dimensions of knowledge, ability and self-confidence, ability to identify and understand the consequences, willingness to enhance knowledge, and burden of care. This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 nurses employed in three teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, who were selected via convenience, proportionate stratification sampling in case they met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using questionnaires of demographic data and attitude of nurses toward delirium consisting of 38 items. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 at the significance level of P≤0.05. The attitude of head nurses toward the elderly patients with delirium was significantly better compared to nurses (P=0.005). The results of the analysis of variance indicated a significant difference with the variable of work experience with the elderly (P=0.003). In addition, occupational position (head nurse) was the only significant variable in the linear regression model. According to the results, occupational position and work experience with the elderly had the most significant associations with the attitude of the nurses toward the elderly patients with delirium. It is suggested that continuous training, evidence-based, and performance-based education be implemented to improve the attitude and practice of nurses. Furthermore, the care of elderly patients must be assigned to trained, experienced, enthusiastic, and interested personnel.