emergency nurses’ attitude and related factors toward geriatric: a cross-sectional study

Aging and the consequent disabilities are major concerns in contemporary society. the last century has witnessed a significant increase in the elderly population, particularly in developing countries, thereby heightening the need to address the issues this demographic faces. understanding nurses’ attitudes towards geriatric and the factors influencing these attitudes is crucial for predicting and, if necessary, modifying the behavior of emergency department nurses. this study aims to determine the emergency nurses’ attitudes and related factors toward geriatric. this cross-sectional analytical study targeted nurses working in the emergency departments of medical training centers in rasht. a total of 190 nurses were selected using the census sampling method. data collection involved a two-part questionnaire: one section capturing demographic characteristics and the other utilizing kogan’s attitudes toward old people scale. the study revealed that the average age of the nurses was 34.41 (standard deviation [sd]=6.37) years. among the 190 nurses, 171 (90.0%) were women, 105 (70.0%) were married, and 178 (93.7%) held bachelor’s degrees. the average length of professional experience among participants was 8.87 (sd=5.24) years, with 7.24 (sd=4.31) years spent in emergency departments. the mean attitude score towards geriatric was 136.24 (sd=10.47), indicating a generally unfavorable attitude. supervisors exhibited a significantly more positive attitude toward geriatric than regular nurses (p=0.035). no statistically significant relationship was found between the nurses’ attitudes and their personal or occupational variables (p<0.05). the findings indicate that nurses generally hold unfavorable attitudes toward geriatric. given the critical importance of providing high-quality care to this population, developing strategies to improve nurses’ attitudes towards geriatrics is imperative.