Table of Contents
Title page                                                                                                       i
Approval page                                                                                                 ii
Certification                                                                                                 iii
Dedication                                                                                                          iv
Acknowledgment                                                                                       v
Table of Contents                                                                                            vi
List of Tables                                                                                               ix
List of Figures                                                                                                           xi
Abstract                                                                                                            xii
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction                                                                        1
Background to the Study                                                              1
Statement of the Problem                                                                                6
Purpose of the Study                                                                                          7
Research Questions                                                                                             7
Hypotheses                                                                                                          8
Significance of the Study                                                                        8
Scope of the Study                                                                          10
CHAPTER TWO: Review of Related Literature                            11
Conceptual Framework                                                                                11
- Concept of attitude                                                                      11
- Concept of ageing and the aged                                                           13
- Measurement of attitude                                                                      17
- Demographic factors that influence attitude towards the aged patients                  17
Theoretical Framework                                                                      19
- Theory of reason                                                                    20
- Theory of programmed ageing                                                          20
Empirical studies on attitude towards the aged patients                   22
Summary of literature review                                                                       29
CHAPTER THREE: Methods                                                                     31
Research Design                                                                                             31
Area of the Study                                                                                                    31
Population for the Study                                                                       32
Sample and Sampling Technique                                                                   32
Instrument for Data Collection                                                          33
- Validity of the instrument                                                                            33
- Reliability of the instrument                                                34
Method of Data Collection                                                                               34
Method of Data Analysis                                                                            35
CHAPTER FOUR: Results and Discussion                               36
Results                                                                                                     36
Summary of Major Findings                                                                                 59
Discussion                                                                                      61
- Attitude of HCPs towards the Physical Care of the Aged 61
- Attitude of HCPs towards the Mental/Emotional Care of the Aged 62
- Attitude of HCPs towards the Social Care of the Aged 63
- Gender and Profession Differentials in Attitude of HCPs towards the Aged 64
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations 67
Summary                                                                                      67
Conclusion                                                                          69
Recommendations                                                                              70
Suggestions for further studies                                                                  71
References                                                                                  72
Appendices                                                                                                       78
Appendix A: Number of Health Care Professionals in University Teaching Hospitals  in Enugu State (UNTH and ESUTHP)      78
Appendix B: Letter of Introduction from Head of department of Health and Physical Education                                                                                           79
Appendix C: Letter of Introduction                                                   80
Appendix D: Attitudes of HCPs towards the Aged (AHCPTA) questionnaire 81
Appendix E: Correlations                                                                84
Appendix F: Analysis                                                                     86
Appendix G: The validated instruments                                        96
Appendix H: Gohen, Manion, and Morrison Standardized Table for Sample Size,    Confidence Levels and Confidence Intervals for Random Samples               97
List of Tables
Tables
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPS Towards the Physical Care of the Aged                        37
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs towards the mental/emotional care of the aged  39
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs towards the social care of the aged                     40
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Physical Care of the Aged Based on the Marital Status of HCPs                                            41
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Mental/Emotional
Care of the Aged Based on the Marital Status of HCPs                     42
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Social Care of the Aged Based on the Marital Status of HCPs                                                                              43
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Physical Care of the Aged by the age of HCPs                                                                                                          44
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Mental/Emotional Care of the Aged by the age of HCPs                                  45
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Social Care of the Aged by the age of HCPs                                                                                46
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Physical Care of the Aged by Gender of HCPs                                                                             47
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Mental/Emotional Care of the Aged by Gender of HCPs                                                   48
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Social Care of the Aged by Gender of HCPs                                                                           49
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Physical Care of the
- Aged by the Profession of HCPs                                                   51
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Menntal/Emotional Care of the Aged by the Profession of HCPs                  52
- Mean ratings of the attitude of HCPs Towards the Social Care of the Aged by the Profession of HCPs                                          53
- Summary of t – test Analysis Testing the Null Hypothesis of no Significant Difference in the attitude of male and female HCPs towards the aged.                        54
- One Way-One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) testing the Null Hypothesis  of no Significant Difference in the Attitude of Different Professions of HCPs towards the aged.                                55
- Scheffe’s Post-Hoc Analysis of Group Mean Scores on Attitude of Different Professions Of HCPS Towards The Aged.                         56
- One Way ANOVA Testing the Null Hypothesis of no Significant Difference in the Attitude of HCPs towards the aged Based on the         Age Differences of HCPs.                                             58
- One Way ANOVA Testing the Null Hypothesis of no Significant Difference in the Attitude of HCPs towards the aged According to Marital Status of HCPs.                                              58
List of figures
Figure
1: Schematic representation of conceptual framework 19
2: Schematic representation of
theoretical framework 21
Abstract
The study was conducted to find
out the attitude of Health Care Professionals (HCPs) towards the aged attending
University Teaching Hospitals in Enugu State. Seven specific objectives and
corresponding research questions were formulated, and four null hypotheses were
postulated to guide the study. The study utilized a descriptive survey research
designed. The population for the study comprised 2018 HCPs working with
University Teaching Hospitals in Enugu State. The sample for the study
consisted of 335 HCPs. A purposive sampling technique was adopted. A
five-sectioned researcher designed questionnaire was the instrument utilized
for collection. The instrument was validated by five experts in the Department
of Health and physical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mean was used
to analyze the data obtained. The null-hypotheses were tested using t -test and
one-way ANOVA statistics at .05 level of significance. The result of the study
showed that the overall attitude of HCPs towards the physical healthcare of
aged (
= 2.20),
mental/emotional healthcare (
= 2.00) and
social healthcare of the aged (
= 1.90) were
negative. The independent variables (gender, age, marital status and
profession) had no significant influence at .05 level of significance on the
attitude of HCPs towards the care of the aged. Following from the findings,
discussion and conclusion of the study, three recommendations were made among
which is the government should make a health policy which will stipulate for
the provision of the aged-healthcare unit in every general hospital in the
nation. This unit should be manned by well-trained HCPs, who will be inculcated
with the appropriate and positive attitude to play significant roles in
responding to healthcare supports and needs of the elderly patients attending
the hospital, and to understand that old age is not a sick condition.
CHAPTER ONE
          Introduction
Background to the study
With the global trend towards an increasingly ageing population, health care professionals (HCPs) are considered to be at risk of developing ageist attitudes. This may arise due to their exposure to disproportionate percentage of ill or dependent older people. This rapidly increasingly ageing population with their declining health poses a great challenge to the health care professionals. The obvious implication of this is that healthcare professionals need to have appropriate attitude to play significant roles in responding to healthcare supports and needs of the elderly patients. Recent researches demonstrate that the world population is rapidly ageing. For instance, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (2010), the number of elderly in Egypt was 3.3 million, that is 4.2% of the total population and this percentage is expected to increase to 8% by the year 2030. World Health Organization (WHO, 2012) reported that between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of those over 60 years worldwide will double from about 11% to 22%. It further inferred that the absolute number of persons aged 60 years and above is expected to increase from 605 million to 2 billion over the same period. As a result, Okafor (2010) asserted that HCPs are to ensure adequate well-being of individuals, including the aged. The aged care should comprise of physical, mental/emotional and social healthcare dimensions, without discriminating and stigmatizing attitude and behaviour by HCPs. Kapungwe, Cooper, Meyeya, Mwanza, Mwape, Sikwese and Lund (2011) reported that there are widespread stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes among health care professionals towards mental illness and those with emotional related cases, especially the aged whose population is rapidly increasing. This increasing elderly population with its physical, social and emotional health implications increases the demands on the HCPs in the hospitals, especially general and university teaching hospitals. According to Okafor (2010), health care professionals are very important health workers with obligation of disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and preservation of health. This responsibility poses great challenges to HCPs. Hassan (2013) explained that HCPs must be prepared to meet the healthcare challenges of the rapidly increasing segments of population including the elderly. As a result, acquisition of proper gerontological knowledge and holding positive attitude are relevant for health care professionals for proper management of the elderly patients. However, when attitude of HCPs relates to the aged patients, it is called attitude towards the aged patients attending the hospital.
