1999 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 98-104
The image of the elderly is important in promoting better geriatric nursing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the types of image for the elderly that nursing students have. This report is based on the comparative relationship between a questionnaire and drawing of their image of the elderly. The results show that the subjects had a positive image of the elderly. There was a significant relationship between having a positive image of the elderly and talking with the elderly on a regular basis. In the drawings, over 70% of the subjects included gray hair and wrinkles, and over 30% of the subjects drew baldness and bad posture. Over 60% of the subjects associated the elderly with outdoor activities such as walking, gate ball, shopping, or potted plants. It seems that students did not see the elderly as staying indoors. Students who described the elderly positively in the questionnaire also drew the elderly in a positive manner. As a result of this study, we can see that an intimate relationship with the elderly had an effect on the image of the elderly. The drawings were useful in helping us to understand students' concrete image of the elderly.
