Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing 2007;9(2):163-172.

간호 관련 인력의 노인의 성에 관한 지식과 태도

김봉임

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to compare knowledge of and attitudes toward sexuality in elderly people among various health care professionals. Method: A comparative study design was used with 262 participants from four health care groups. The four groups were nurses, students who had studied gerontological nursing, students who had not studied gerontological nursing and staffs of medical institutions. The participants completed White's Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale (ASKAS), which had 34 items on knowledge and 20 items on attitudes.
Result
The results show that, the highest level of knowledge and most positive attitudes towards sexuality in elderly people among the four groups was for the student group who had studied gerontological nursing. Nurses and students who had studied gerontological nursing had higher levels of knowledge and more positive attitudes than participants in the other two groups. Significant correlations were found between knowledge and attitudes towards sexuality in elders among the health care groups.
Conclusion
The findings suggest a need for more education on sexuality in elders for these health care groups. Also, nurse educators need to pay special attention to the topic of sexuality in elders when planning gerontological nursing education.

Key words: 지식, 태도, 성, 간호 관련 인력