Attitude Towards Older Adults in Adults Persons Residing in Urban Community

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to describe the attitude towards older adults and compare the attitude towards older adults in adult persons residing in urban communities based on personal factors including gender, age, religion, occupation, family characteristics, personal income, family income, education, type of home ownership, experience of care for older adults and functional ability of older adults. Through convenience sampling with inclusion criteria, the sample included 400 adults aged 15 - 59 years residing in six areas in Bangkok. Instruments included questionnaires on demography and attitude towards older adults. Data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA.
Results revealed that the sample had overall attitude towards older adults at the moderate level. The attitude for family and environment as well as social and cultural dimensions were at rather good levels whereas the attitude for physical and mental dimension was rather poor. The sample had different attitude towards older adults in different personal factors including personal income (p = .003), family income (p = .001), and functional ability of older adults (p < .001). However, there was no statistical difference in attitude towards older adults in the sample with different gender, age, religion, occupation, and family characteristics. Results suggested that nurses and health team should promote attitude towards older adults on physical and mental dimension in adult persons, particularly in those with low personal income and family income, including those with experiences of taking care older adults with dependence.