Social policies in health services in terms of age discrimination and for the elderly individuals Sağlık hizmetlerinde yaşlı ayrımcılığı ve yaşlılara yönelik sosyal politikalar

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ŞEN H., Aksungur A.

Turk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi, cilt.82, sa.3, ss.463-474, 2025 (Scopus, TRDizin)

Özet

Objective: The purpose of this study is to measure the attitudes of nurses working at the Health Care Services Directorate of a public hospital in Ankara towards ageism, to determine which sociodemographic variables influence these attitudes, and to map the perceptions, values, and biases that nurses hold in care processes for elderly individuals. Based on the findings, the study aims to provide a basis for awareness, training, and policy development studies against ageism. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with nurses providing patient care services in a public hospital in Ankara. According to a 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error, the minimum sample size was determined to be 322 participants. Data were collected online via Google Forms between January 30 and February 28, 2025. Data collection tools included a sociodemographic information form and the Ageism Attitude Scale developed by Vefikuluçay (2008). The scale consists of three sub-dimensions, and high scores indicate positive attitudes towards elderly individuals. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0; normal distribution was evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilk test, and appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests were applied. Results: The findings of the study show that nurses generally display a positive attitude towards elderly individuals. Perceptions regarding care processes for the elderly differed depending on demographic variables such as education level, years of experience, and age. These findings indicate that sensitivity to ageism in health services still has room for improvement. Conclusion: The study revealed that nurses’ attitudes towards elderly individuals play a critical role in providing health services in a manner that respects human dignity. It was concluded that ageism is not limited to individual attitudes but is also influenced by institutional culture and administrative structures. Therefore, it is important that ageing-related content should be strengthened in nursing education, in-service training should be restructured on the basis of ethical awareness, and social policies centred on elderly rights should be implemented.