Attitudes Toward Ageism Among Home Health Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the attitudes of home health workers serving in home health services units of a province in the Central Anatolia Region toward ageism against elderly people. Methods: The population of the study included 64 home health workers serving in Home Health Services units affiliated with the Provincial Health Directorate, in line with the records of the Home Health Service Coordination Center in the province in August 2019. Totally 64 home health workers who agreed to participate in the study were included. Descriptive characteristics were collected and the Ageism Attitude Scale (AAS) was used to evaluate toward ageism against elderly people. Analyses were performed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 23 program. Results: The mean age of the home health workers were 32.64+7.75 years; 59.4% of them were female, and 40.6% had a master's degree. In the present study, 40.6% (n=26) of the healthcare professionals were nurses, 35.9% (n=23) were doctors, 14.1% (n=9) were health technicians, and 9.4% (n=6) were midwives. A significant difference was found between the total score for ageism attitudes and marital status, educational status, occupation, years of work in home health care, and willingness to take courses related to the elderly people (P<0.05). Significant positive correlations were found among the subscales of the AAS. Conclusions: The total score for home health workers' attitudes toward ageism in home healthcare services was found to be at a medium--high level. In this context, the importance of training healthcare workers involved in home healthcare services for elderly care and ageism has become apparent, and it is recommended that courses and seminars related to the elderly be planned for healthcare workers.