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A cross-cultural study of nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse in nursing homes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2011

Miri Cohen  and
Shiri Shinan-Altman
Miri Cohen*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
Shiri Shinan-Altman
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Miri Cohen, PhD, Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Phone: +972 4 8249565; Fax: +972 4 8240573. Email: cohenm@research.haifa.ac.il.
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Abstract

Background: Nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse may serve as predictors of a proclivity to it, and may be influenced by cultural and situational context such as immigration. The purpose of the current study was to examine attitudes to elder abuse in three groups of Israeli nursing aides, namely veteran Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and new immigrants, and their associations to demographic and work-related factors.

Methods: 188 nursing aides (31 veteran Israeli Jews, 38 Israeli Arabs, 119 new immigrants) at 18 nursing homes in Israel completed questionnaires on work stressors, attitudes to elder abuse, sociodemographic and work-related characteristics, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Results: New immigrant nursing aides reported a higher tendency to condone abusive behaviors than did veteran Jewish and Arab nursing aides. Some 23% of the variance in attitudes was explained by group, demographics, work stressors and burnout. Greater condoning of elder abuse was associated with belonging to the new immigrant group, being unmarried and reporting higher work stressors. There was an interaction effect of work stressors × group, indicating that higher work stressors were related to a stronger tendency to condone elder abuse in the new immigrant group than in the veteran Jewish and Arab groups. Burnout was correlated with greater condoning of elder abuse; this association was not significant when the other variables were controlled for in the regression analysis.

Conclusions: Attitudes condoning elder abuse are related to work stressors, and may be accelerated by the additional stressors on new immigrant nursing aides. Careful planning of the professional guidance and support given to new immigrant nursing aides is important.

Keywords

attitudes to elder abuselong-term facilitieswork stressorsculture differences
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 8 , October 2011 , pp. 1213 - 1221
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

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