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Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Education

Program

Education

Supervisor

Decoito, Isha

Abstract

This study explores nurses' and nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in caring for the elderly and addresses the factors contributing to nurses' perspectives. It also examines the nursing curriculum's contributions to nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy and provides suggestions to reconfigure the nursing curriculum for comprehensive geriatric nursing care. A mixed-method research design was used to address the purpose of the study. The results revealed that most nurses possess neutral attitudes toward caring for geriatric patients, and their knowledge ranged from average to above-average levels; most nurses had an above-average level of self-efficacy. Results also showed a statistically significant positive correlation between nurses' attitudes and knowledge level and between self-efficacy and knowledge level. Similarly, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between nurses' attitudes and self-efficacy and between self-efficacy and years of experience. This study demonstrated the positive impact of the Canadian nursing curriculum on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy.

Summary for Lay Audience

The study focused on examining the knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of nursing students and nurses toward caring for Canada's geriatric population. It also explored the impact of nursing curricula on nurses’ and nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via online surveys to address this research inquiry. Study findings revealed that most nurses and nursing students possess neutral attitudes, average knowledge level, and above-average self-efficacy, and there was a positive correlation among attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficacy of nurses and nursing students. There are no statistically significant differences were found between nurses' attitudes and their demographic data. The study found that most study participants reported that the nursing curriculum positively impacted their knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in providing them with the required knowledge and skills. Study findings recognized some of the influencers affecting nurses' attitudes; therefore, future research is needed to explore more factors that influence nurses' and nursing students' attitudes and understanding toward geriatric care. The research enriches the existent literature about the Canadian nursing curriculum's influences on the nurses' and nursing students' attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge. The current study recommends providing geriatrics nursing courses as a mandatory separate course in nursing education to enhance nursing students' knowledge and skills for high-quality geriatric nursing care.


Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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