Needs Assessment of Nurses and Educators toward Gerontological Nursing Curriculum Development

노인간호학 교과개발을 위한 요구 사정 연구

As the population over the age of 65 increases, the demand for nurses who care for this group also continues to grow. Well-prepared nurses who are knowledgeable and skilled for the elderly can be prepared through systematic gerontological nursing curricula. This study was carried out to identify the needs for gerontological nursing curricular contents. The subjects for this study were two participant groups the educators who teach gerontological nursing in three-year and four-year baccalaureate nursing programs, and the nurses who are working with the elderly in hospitals, community health centers, social welfare agencies, and community health practioner's posts. The major findings of the study are as follows : 1. The differences between actual contents and essential contents of the educators : Concerning the actual contents that is actually taught, the educators showed the highest scores on the demographics of older adults and the lowest scores on the cultural variations affecting health care. Regarding the essential contents, the educators showed the highest scores on the demographics and the lowest scores on the economics of aging. Aside from the demographics, all of the items were found to have significant differences between essential and actual contents. This implies that all the content areas except demographics should be emphasized. 2. The differences between actual knowledge and essential knowledge of the nurses : Concerning the nurses' actual knowledge, the nurses showed the highest scores on the common health problems and their treatment and the lowest scores on the politics of aging. Regarding the essential knowledge, nurses showed the highest scores on the chronic illness and common health problems and the lowest scores on their roles and functions. However, they thought all the items to be essential. All of the items were found to have significant differences between actual and essential knowledge. The nurses who studied gerontological nursing in their school years and after graduating had more knowledge. However, they felt more knowledge was needed. This implies that the nurses need more education in all content areas of gerontological nursing. 3. The differences between educators and nurses : Concerning the essential contents, the educators showed higher scores on the demographics and growth and development than the nurses. Whereas, the nurses showed higher scores on the cultural variations, long-term care, economics of aging, politics of aging, legal and ethical issues, and common health problems than the educators. 4. Activities of nursing care for the elderly : Most common activities were related to direct nursing care such as giving physical care, counseling/teaching clients, and assessing and planning care for the clients. Nurses thought that all the items were critical, but they showed relatively low scores on the following :'serve on multidisciplinary committee', 'preparing reports', 'evaluation of outcomes of care', 'determine policy for nursing service', 'set patient care standards', and 'participate in nursing research' The constraints in providing better nursing service were time constraints, administrative restraints, social restraints, and inadequate knowledge.