title: Korean nurses' attitudes towards older people with dementia in acute care settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify and describe Korean nurses' attitudes towards older people with dementia in acute care settings and to examine the effect of selected socio-demographics and nursing work characteristics on attitudes.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  In Korea, older people receive health care services in acute care settings because long-term care settings are not the norm. Culturally, it is considered shameful to place parents or relatives in a long-term care facility.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive survey design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Attitudes towards older people with dementia were measured in Korean registered nurses (n = 100) working in acute care settings of two hospitals in southern Korea in 2009. The Attitudes toward the Elderly with Dementia (AED) and the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ) were administered to participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderately positive attitudes towards older people with dementia in the acute care setting were found. Two-thirds of the nurse participants (n = 65, 65.7%) working in medical wards demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes than those working in surgical wards (n = 34, 34.3%). Demographics including years of experience in the current unit and in the service, and nurses' position did not correlate significantly with their attitudes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The environment, work routine and technology may influence the likelihood of negative attitude towards people with dementia. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE. There may be conflict between nurses' cultural values and care practices in acute care settings. Therefore, there is a need for ongoing education of nurses in dementia care that may reduce the potential of such conflicts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Cheju Halla College, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Moyle
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Venturato
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003704:Dementia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012752:Shame; D055815:Young Adult