Examining the attitudes of nurses working in nursing home toward i̇ndividuals with dementia and the affecting factors

The sample of this descriptive cross sectional study which sought to examine the attitudes of nurses working in nursing home toward individuals with dementia and the affecting factors comprised nurses working in nursing home (n:153). The researcher collected the data online via the Personal Information Form, the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) and the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) between October and November 2021. In evaluation of the data, the researcher used descriptive statistics such as percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test, F test and the Pearson's correlation analysis. Of the nurses working in nursing home, 47.1% were aged 20 to 30 years, 77.8% were female and 69.3% had bachelor's degree. The nurses' mean total DAS score was 100.31±12.19 and mean total DKAS score was 18.94±5.48. Sociodemographic characteristics such as dementia knowledge level, presence of a person with dementia in family receiving direct care, state of facing a communication problem when giving care to the person with dementia and educational level affected the attitudes of nurses toward individuals with dementia (p<0.01). The study found a statistically significant correlation between the dementia knowledge level and dementia attitude scores in a positive direction (p<0.01: r=0.432). In order to increase the quality of care given to individuals with dementia, the attitudes of nurses toward these individuals are significant. As the dementia knowledge level of nurses working in nursing home increases, they display positive attitudes toward individuals with dementia. It is recommended that inservice trainings aimed at increasing the dementia knowledge level of nurses be conducted regularly. Keywords: Nursing Home, Nurse, Dementia, Attitude