Determınatıon Of Prejudıcıal Levels Of Nurses Agaınst Obes Indıvıduals

Abstract

Objective: This research was conducted to determine the prejudice levels of nurses against obese individuals. Method: The population of this cross-sectional study consisted of nurses working in inpatient units of a university hospital between January and March 2021. The sample of the study consisted of 341 (72%) nurses who agreed to participate in the study. The data of the study were collected using the Personal Information Form and the GAMS-27 Obesity Prejudice Scale. Descriptive statistics, independent groups t test, one-way analysis of variance, and Kruskal Wallis test were used in the evaluation of the data. Results: The total mean score of the nurses participating in the study from the GAMS-27 Obesity Prejudice Scale was determined as 72.39±12.37. Considering the distribution of scores according to the cut-off points of the scale; It was found that 56.6% were prone to prejudice, 34% were unprejudiced, and 9.4% were prejudiced. In the study, it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between any descriptive feature of the nurses and the scale total score averages (p>0.05). Conclusions: This research revealed that nurses tend to have a high degree of prejudice towards obese individuals. In this direction, it can be recommended to add courses related to care for obese patients to the nursing undergraduate curriculum and to plan in-service training on this subject for nurses who are starting their profession.