Actitudes de estudiantes españoles de terapia ocupacional hacia las personas mayores

Abstract

Introduction: The world’s population is growing and ageing. Considering this demographic change in the population, a large amount of health science professionals will work with elderly people after graduation, although most students in these areas have little knowledge and interest in this population. Objective: To analyze attitudes towards the elderly in Occupational Therapy students at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. Materials and methods: Descriptive study. The Kogan scale of attitudes toward older people (KAOP), validated in Spanish, was applied in 109 Occupational Therapy students of Universidad de Granada. Results: On average, the participating students had a neutral attitude towards older adults (KAOP value 143.60±11.70). No statistically significant differences were found by sex or academic year (p=0.804) in the observed data. Conclusions: The attitude towards the elderly observed among Occupational Therapy students at the Universidad de Granada is neutral, with no differences by sex or academic year. Further studies on the subject are necessary to elucidate the possible causes of this attitude.