MEASURING THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF HEALTH CARE STAFF TOWARD OLDER PEOPLE: SENSITIVITY OF MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS

This paper discusses the sensitivity of instruments used to measure knowledge and attitudes toward older people. Existing standardized measurement instruments are reviewed, including a detailed examination of Palmore's Facts on Ageing Quiz (FAQ). A recent study conducted by the research team in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational gerontology 2004-03, Vol.30 (3), p.237-254
Main Authors: Cowan, David T., Fitzpatrick, Joanne M., Roberts, Julia D., While, Alison E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging (Individuals)
Attitude Measures
Biological and medical sciences
Foreign Countries
Health Personnel
Knowledge Level
Measurement Techniques
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Older Adults
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Test Reliability
Test Validity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper discusses the sensitivity of instruments used to measure knowledge and attitudes toward older people. Existing standardized measurement instruments are reviewed, including a detailed examination of Palmore's Facts on Ageing Quiz (FAQ). A recent study conducted by the research team into the knowledge and attitudes of support workers (n = 155) employed in care homes for older people, which utilized the FAQ is described. Despite ongoing attempts to address the challenge of measuring knowledge and attitudes toward older people, previous literature reviews and the results of the recent support workers study have revealed inadequacies, confusion, contradictions, and a need for further research into this area. Further development and refinement of measures remain a key challenge for researchers working in this field. Service users (in this case, older people) will need to be actively involved in this process. If the reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity of existing instruments cannot, however, be further tested and established, then new instruments may need to be developed.
ISSN:0360-1277
1521-0472
DOI:10.1080/03601270490273169