Association of nurses’ characteristics and level of knowledge with ageist attitudes toward older adults: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between nurses’ ageism and their knowledge about aging and socio-demographic and professional characteristics in recent international nursing research studies. Design/methodology/approach An extensive search of seven databases covering papers since 2000 was undertaken and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Findings Ageism among nurses is still poorly understood. It is evident that ageism is associated with poor nurses’ level of knowledge about aging. A range of nurses’ demographical and professional characteristics have been examined as potential predictors of ageism, but they were inconsistent with positive, negative and neutral associations. Originality/value There is a lack of robustly designed studies investigating the association of nurses’ level of knowledge about aging and their socio-demographical and professional characteristics to ageism. Future descriptive-correlational and interventional studies are recommended to understand and target ageism in health-care settings.