Empathy as a Factor Conditioning Attitudes towards the Elderly among Physiotherapists—Results from Poland

Marta Podhorecka, Anna Pyszora, Agnieszka Woźniewicz, Jakub Husejko and Kornelia Kędziora-Kornatowska
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Marta Podhorecka: Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus, University Copernicus, 85-094 Torun, Poland
Anna Pyszora: Department of Palliative Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus, University Copernicus, 85-094 Torun, Poland
Agnieszka Woźniewicz: Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus, University Copernicus, 85-094 Torun, Poland
Jakub Husejko: Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus, University Copernicus, 85-094 Torun, Poland
Kornelia Kędziora-Kornatowska: Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus, University Copernicus, 85-094 Torun, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: Attitudes of healthcare workers towards the elderly significantly affect the quality of care dedicated to this group of patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the approach of Polish physiotherapists to the elderly and to analyze the factors influencing these attitudes. The study was based on a cross-sectional Internet-based survey that was conducted in the period from May to September 2021. It was completed by 252 subjects: 189 women and 63 men. The study was based on the involvement of physiotherapists with the right to practice their profession in accordance with the law in force in Poland. The tools used in the study were The Kogan Attitudes towards the Elderly (KAOP) score and The Jefferson Empathy Scale (JSE). To model the KOAP score as a function of the predictors, Bayesian linear regression was used. The average KOAP score in the sample was M (SD) = 100.7 (17.46), with the central 50% of the observations ranging from 81 to 113 points. We observed one statistically credible relationship: relevance of contacts with elderly people was positively and moderately related to KOAP. Additionally, we observed that the JSE scale was positively, but very weakly, associated with KOAP. Empathy and own experience of health care providers may protect against negative attitudes towards the elderly, meaning empathy in healthcare professionals is crucial.

Keywords: ageism; elderly; empathy; physiotherapists (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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