Özet:

Aim: It is important for nursing students to have positive attitude towards elderly in order to improve quality of care in later years. This study was conducted to determine the attitudes of nursing students towards elderly. Material and Methods: The population of the study that had a descriptive design was composed of nursing students of a university. Sample consisted of 432 students. Data was collected by a questionnaire and attitude towards elder people scale. Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t test and one-way variance analysis and Tukey test were used in the analysis of data. Results: The students’ mean age was 20.4 ± 1.6 while 84.3 % were female, 35.2 % were first grade students. Mean score of the students obtained from attitude towards elder people scale was 121.1 ± 10.7.  It was found that attitudes toward the elderly scale mean scores of the students who live with an old person in their houses, care for old family members, and interact with old people everyday were higher and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that nursing student’s attitude towards elders was generally positive, however, positive attitude was at a low level. In order to increase and maintain positive attitude towards elders, giving more place to issues and practices regarding with geriatrics and geriatric patient care in the content of undergraduate education program, and encouraging the students to participate in activities that will raise awareness about elderly care, organizing programs about geriatric nursing during undergraduate and graduate nursing education program.

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