Attitudes of registered nurses and student nurses to disabled children

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the attitudes of registered nurses and student nurses towards disabled children. A convenience sample consisting of 99 registered nurses employed in paediatric hospitals and 189 student nurses was selected. The instrument used for data collection was the 'Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons' (ATDP) scale. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance were performed to test for significant differences. On the whole subjects' attitudes appeared to be poor. Student nurses had more positive attitudes in comparison to registered nurses; however, the difference was not statistically significant. There were significant differences between the different age groups and between student groups within different education settings. There were no significant differences in gender. Actions to improve subjects' attitudes towards disabled children are discussed and suggested.