Nurses’ Attitudes and Emotions Toward Caring for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Admitted to Medical/Surgical-Type Units

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Nurses’ Attitudes and Emotions Toward Caring for Adults with Intellectual DisabilitiesAdmitted to Medical/Surgical-Type Units Jo Ann Kleier, PhD, EdD, APRN, ACNP-BC, Ron & Kathy Assaf College of Nursing; Vanessa Johnson, PhD, MS, RN, Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy; Violet Rhagnanan-Kramer, PhD-c, MSN, RN, Ron & Kathy Assaf College of Nursing, Nova Southeastern University Objective. This study was conducted to describe the attitudes and emotions of nurses working on adult medical/surgical-type units toward caring for adult patients with intellectual disabilities. The results will provide guidance and justification for design and implementation of interventions to improve the quality of life for the providers, the patients, and the patients’ families. Background. Studies indicate that nurses have negative attitudes about providing care to individuals with intellectual disabilities. These negative attitudes and emotions likely lead to poor health care outcomes for patients and families. Methods. This was a descriptive study in which participants completed an online research instrument which was previously tested for psychometrics among nurses in the United Kingdom. This was a convenience sample of 200 nurses working in adult medical-surgical-type units in a large South Florida hospital. Results. Participants reported a negative overall attitude but more positive emotion and less negative emotion toward providing care for adults with intellectual disabilities. On average, participants with a family member or close friend with a developmental disorder scored lower on attitude (n = 56, M = 68.84, SE = 2.73), than those without such a relationship (n = 144, M = 69.83, SE = 1.92). This difference, 1.19, BCa 95% CI [-5.65, 8.03], was not significant, t(198) = 0.35, p = .731. Conclusions. Poor attitudes toward providing care for these patients may have corresponding negative effects on healthcare outcomes and quality of life. Grants: This study was supported by a grant from Nova Southeastern University’s Health Professions Division.