Table 4 Nurses response on OPACS scale of attitude questions at public hospitals in West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021(n = 411)
Items | SD % | D % | U % | A % | SA % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Do you like to care for older patients | 12.9% | 6.8% | 4.9% | 30.7 | 44.8% |
*Do you agree older patients are confused | 39.4% | 31.6% | 7.8% | 9% | 12.2% |
*Do you agree older patients pretend not to hear you | 13.6% | 11.9% | 9.2% | 21.7% | 43.6% |
*Older patients are a nuisance to care | 12.2% | 18% | 10.7% | 19.7% | 39.4% |
*Older patients are more likely to be depressed than younger patients | 14.8% | 12.7% | 17.5% | 31.6% | 23.4% |
*Older patients have to follow special diets | 14.8% | 10.5% | 15.1% | 30.4% | 29.2% |
*Older patients do not know the actions and interactions of their medications | 25.3% | 24.6% | 16.3% | 12.4% | 21.4% |
*Older patients require less pain-relieving mediation than younger patients | 20.7% | 12.2% | 16.5% | 27% | 23.6% |
*Older patients become addicted to sleeping medications easily | 31.4% | 35.3% | 12.2% | 5.6% | 15.6% |
*Incontinent patients are bothersome | 17% | 8% | 15.3% | 36.3% | 23.4% |
*Do you agree urinary incontinence is part of the aging | 13.6% | 5.6% | 10.9% | 40.1% | 29.7% |
Patients who are older are more worried with their bowel habits than those who are younger | 13.9% | 6.6%) | 7.8% | 38.2% | 33.6% |
Elder patients are uncomfortable when their bodies are exposed | 16.3% | 5.8% | 8.5% | 34.2% | 34.8% |
*Too many older patients receive life-sustaining care | 38% | 28.2% | 10.5% | 6.3% | 17% |
Older patients have more discharge problems than do younger patients | 23.6% | 5.4% | 9% | 30.2% | 31.9% |
At the time of discharge older patients are likely to be more dependent than younger patients | 30.4% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 32.4% | 24.3% |
Older patients require placement in long term care following a hospital admission | 37.5% | 5.6% | 6.1% | 29.7% | 21.2% |
*Older patients have extensive lengths of stay and take up beds that could be used for sicker patients | 17.3% | 25.1% | 4.4% | 9.5% | 43.8% |
*There are too many older patients in acute care hospitals | 18.7% | 23.6% | 7.5% | 8% | 42.1% |
It would be a good idea for all hospitals to have an acute geriatric unit | 40.4% | 4.9% | 7.1% | 22.9% | 24.8% |
Older patients are likely to be on more medication when admitted to the hospital than younger patients | 40.1% | 6.6% | 8.3% | 22.4% | 22.6% |
Older patients become confused in a new setting | 38.2% | 6.3% | 10% | 21.7% | 24.8% |
Older patients feel isolated in the acute care setting | 37.5% | 7.8% | 10.7% | 22.9% | 21.2% |
*In the hospital, eating and drinking are the most common activities performed by older patients | 16.3% | 27.7% | 10.7% | 6.8% | 38.4% |
Older patients have more skin problems than younger patients | 35.8% | 8% | 8% | 28.2% | 20% |
Older patients are more likely to require assistance with mobility than younger patients | 36.5% | 5.1% | 7.8% | 30.7% | 20% |
A lot of older patients have stiff joints | 31.4% | 7.8% | 6.8% | 30.2% | 23.8% |
Older patients tend not to tell health professional if they are incontinent | 35.5% | 10.7% | 6.1% | 27.3% | 20.2% |
Older patients experience changes in bowel elimination patterns in the acute care setting | 34.5% | 9.5% | 6.1% | 29.2% | 20.7% |
Older patients are more likely to have open surgical procedures than laparoscopic surgery | 35.5% | 9% | 8% | 24.6% | 22.9% |
Older patients become confused after operations/procedures | 32.6% | 5.4% | 8.8% | 25.1% | 28.2% |
Older patients are more likely to develop post-operative complications | 33.8% | 6.6% | 5.8% | 27.7% | 26% |
Older patients are particularly prone to nosocomial infections | 30.9% | 4.6% | 8.5% | 25.1% | 30.9% |
For older patients, early discharge is difficult to achieve | 24.8% | 7.1% | 7.1% | 26.5% | 34.5% |