Year: 2024 | Month: September | Volume: 14 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 246-255
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20240932
Determination of Nursing Undergraduate Students' Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities
Sevil Özkan1, Oğuzhan Özsevgiç2
1Assist. Prof. Dr. Child Health and Diseases Nursing Division, Selcuk University Faculty of Nursing, Konya, Türkiye
2Nurse, Ankara Atatürk Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
Corresponding Author: Sevil Özkan
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the attitudes of nursing students toward persons with disabilities.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive and correlational study's population comprised nursing faculty students (N=786). The sample size was calculated using the formula "when the universe is certain," resulting in a sample of 259 students. Data were collected between March and June 2023 using the Information Form and the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS). Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 22.0 program, employing descriptive statistics and parametric or non-parametric tests for comparative data.
Findings: Most students stated no persons with disabilities among their family members or friends. It was found that more than half of the students did not care for disabled people in clinical practice. The mean score for the cognitive sub-dimension of the MAS was higher for students aged 20 and younger than for students aged 20 and older (MW-U=7072.5/ p=0.041). Also, the mean score for the emotional sub-dimension of the MAS scale was higher among students with disabled friends (t=1.392 p=0.036). The mean score for the behavioural sub-dimension differed between students’ enrolled classes. The post hoc analysis showed that students in the second class had higher mean scores for behaviours than students in the fourth class, which was statistically significant. (F=2.752/p=0.043). Also, it was determined that the source of information about disability and the experience of caring for a person(s) with disabilities affected the MAS scale score of the students in terms of total score or sub-dimension scores (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Nursing students’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities were affected by age, status of having a person with disabilities among their friends, enrolled class, source of information about disability, and experience of caring for a person(s) with disabilities. While students' attitudes are generally favourable, further studies utilizing alternative designs are advised to ascertain both explicit and implicit attitudes.
Key words: Attitude, Disability, Nursing Student, Persons with disabilities.