Healthcare Support Staff Attitudes Towards Older Adults

Breen, Adam William (2025) Healthcare Support Staff Attitudes Towards Older Adults. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Ireland is experiencing a rise in the population of older adults with the improvement of health services and life expectancy. Ageism can negatively affect older adults and quality of care received. This study aimed to investigate ageism in healthcare support staff. The study also aimed to investigate if gender, age, duration of employment, education and occupation are associated with ageist attitudes. The study was conducted using a quantitative, cross-sectional approach. There were 48 participants recruited from a hospital in Ireland. Participants completed an online survey. Demographic and occupational information were collected. Ageism was assessed using the Fraboni Scale of Ageism. Nurses, MTAs and HCAs have positive attitudes towards older adults. Multiple regression analyses found ageism was not predicted by age, gender, occupation, educational achievement and duration of employment. Additional analyses resulted in no significant associations between ageism and education, duration of employment or age. Gender was also not associated with ageism. There were no significant differences in attitudes by occupation. Education, age, gender, occupation, duration of employment or occupation may not be predictive or associated with ageism. Possible implications for cultural research to be conducted on ageism, and longitudinal research is also required to further investigate the development of ageism.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Supervisors:	Name Email Nolan, Conor UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Healthcare Support Staff; Attitudes; Ageism; Older Adults; Health
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare > Discrimination > Age discrimination R Medicine > Healthcare Industry
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	07 Nov 2025 09:29
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2025 09:30
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/8874

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