The Attitudes of Rural Community Health Workers Towards Older Adults in Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that the quality of elderly care is substantially influenced by the attitudes of healthcare staff. The present study aimed to assess the attitude of rural community health workers towards elderly people.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed in this study, which was conducted among all health workers of Harsin city (province of Kermanshah - Iran). The Kogan's Attitudes towards Older People Scale (KOPS) was used to measure data. The statistical program SPSS, version 22 was used to perform the data analysis.

Results: The mean age of the participated health workers was 37.59 ± 4.48, about 85% were married and 76% were diploma holders. The average score of attitude was 150.60 ±15.31. About 15% of rural community health workers had negative attitude towards older adults. No significant relationships were observed between age, gender, marital status, work experience and educational status with attitudes toward aging.

Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that rural community health workers do not have strong positive attitude towards the elderly. Therefore, it is imperative to develop efforts to improve positive attitudes of rural community health workers towards older adults and aging process.

Keywords: Aged; attitude; elderly; kermanshah; older people scale (KOPS); rural community health workers.