[Qualitative study on factors influencing the choice to work with the elders]

Geriatric settings are not attractive for italian nurses that rather prefer other areas, valued as more stimulating and rewarding. No italian studies attempted to analyse the reasons for the lack of interest of nurses for geriatric care, therefore an explorative study was conducted.

A qualitative study was conducted collecting data through focus groups with nurses involved in different clinical settings. The focus groups were type-recorded and transcribed. Content analysis was used to analyse data. A researcher identified the main codes (this process was independently reviewed by a second researcher). The codes with similar meaning were grouped in main categories. The process was independently reviewed by a third researcher.

Several factors (individual, educational, organizative and sociocultural influence the choice of working with elderly people. The main reasons are related to: the needs of the family and of the organization, the quality of interpersonal relationship and values of the team, the previous educational experiences, the personal values, the association between old age and death, the physical characteristics of the working environment, the opportunity of giving personalized care, the perception of complexity of needs and of the necessary skills to answer those needs.

The choice of the nursing profession is value loaden and nurses favour a choice of setting that reflects their values, rather than a priory selecting the clinical area. Geriatric care is perceived as generalist, less professionalizing compared to critical care. The education can play a major role in motivating nurses to consider and privilege geriatric care.