Attitudes of Medical Faculty Students TowardAgeism: A Cross-Sectional Study From Kayseri

Abstract

Objective: Attitudes of medical faculty students toward ageism are an important issue in terms of public health. In Turkey,there is not enough study to attract attention to ageism. In this study, it was aimed to determine some factors related to theattitudes of the first and last year students of Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine toward the elderly in the 2017–2018academic year. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data of 468 (71.6%) students studying in the first and last yearswere analyzed. As a data collection tool, a sociodemographic questionnaire and Ageism Attitude Scale (AAS) were used. Thedependent variable of the study was the attitude toward ageism, independent variables were age, gender, grade, economic sit uation, family structure, the condition of staying with the elderly before and currently, and willingness to care for the elderly. Results: The average age of participants was 21.8±3.0 years, 51.0% were first grade and 51.5% were women. The totalAAS score of the students was 84.9±8.8, the restricting the life of the elderly was 36.8±4.3, the positive ageism score was30.3±5.0, and the negative ageism score was 17.8±3.0. The AAS total score and the restricting the life of the elderly scorewere significantly higher in women and last grade students (p