Measuring students perceptions and validation of questionnaires [Conference paper abstract]

Background:
To measure the attitudes towards older people and perceptions of working with older people of undergraduate health and social care students in 5 European countries. Questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection methods. The use of questionnaires constructed and validated in a setting to other setting is an essential aspect in international studies, which have as main objective to compare and deduce similarities and differences within different contexts. There are three main aspects in validation, the linguistic, the cultural and statistic validation,all these three aspects are essential during theprocess.

Materials:
Two questionnaires were used: Attitudes towards Older People Scale (Kogan1966) and Students’ Perception of Working with Older People Scale (Nolan et al, 2006).

Methods:
Five Countries were involved in the study namely Ireland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, and Italy. Back translation methodology was used in order to translate questionnaire (Linguistic and cultural validation) while a Cronbach was calculate to assess internal validity (statistic validation).

Results:
Students (n = 955) completed the two questionnaires. Students’ Perception of Working with Older People Scale, shows a 0.81 a Cronbach for all sample, for Ireland 0.84, Germany, 0.79, Italy 0.79, Finland 0.84 and Latvia 0.59, Attitudes towards Older People Scale shows a 0.83 a Cronbach for all sample,for Ireland 0.85, Germany, 0.83, Italy 0.62, Finland 0.86 and Latvia 0.74. Respondents were generally positive towards older people with few differences between countries. Those with least experience with older people displayed more negative attitudes. Significant relationships were found between positive 50 © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd PARALLEL SESSION D experiences and disposition to working with older people. However, there is evidence of indecision about a future career in working with older people.

Conclusion:
Validation of questionnaires is an essential aspect of research and particularly in comparison studies. Certainly it is an issue which involve no English speaker countries, however Anglo-Saxon countries (e.g. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, US and Ireland) should also be concerned about the more cultural aspect of validation which is also a key aspect mainly in detecting attitudes and beliefs on cultural aspects.

Results suggest a need for a renewed focus on the encouragement of intergenerational contact between younger and older people and the promotion of gerontology as a clear and appealing career option in health and social care.