Knowledge and Attitudes of Older Adults towards Use of Assistive Devices

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Gerontological nursing

2 Lecturer of Gerontological Nursing ,Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University

3 Assistant Professor of Gerontological Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Assistive devices are equipments that play a vital role for improving older adults independence and enhancing their quality of life.Aim: Assess knowledge and attitudes of older adults towards use of assistive devices.Design: This study employed a descriptive research design .Setting:It was conducted at the geriatric outpatient clinic of the specialized Medical Hospital of Mansoura University and the outpatient clinic of the Mansoura specialized hospital which is affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Mansoura city. Subjects: a purposive sample of 224 older adults. Tools: The researcher utilized five tools to gather data, Mini– Mental State Examination, Demographic and Health Related Data Structured Interview sheet, Assistive devices knowledge questionnaire sheet, Assistive devices attitudes questionnaire sheet , and Katz. And Akpom Scale. Results: It was found that the mean age of the studied older adults was 65.03 ± 4.19, Males were more prevalent , 66,6% of studied older adults were using assistive devices,44,2% of studied older adults were using eye glasses ,and 77.5 % of them had previous training regarding assistive devices. Conclusion: The majority of older adults had poor level of knowledge and more than two thirds of them had neutral attitudes towards use of assistive devices. Also, there was strong positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes of the subjects towards use of assistive devices. Recommendations: Show case role models who have embraced assistive devices in their daily lives.
Key words: Assistive devices , Attitudes, Knowledge, Older adults.

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