Assessing Nurses' Gerontological Care Competency: A Cross-Sectional Study on Affecting Factors

Introduction: Elderly individuals may experience a decline in functionality with advancing age, a significantly higher mortality rate due to multimorbidity, and an increase in dependency. Therefore, it is essential for nurses to conduct a holistic care assessment of elderly individuals and possess an adequate level of gerontological nursing knowledge. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a hospital in Türkiye between November and December 2024. The sample of the study consisted of nurses. (n=115). Data were collected through an online questionnaire method using an individual information form and Gerontological Nursing Competence (GeroNursingCom) instrument. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression. Results: 87.8% of the participants (n=101) were women, 80.9% (n=93) were graduates of a bachelor's degree, and 23% (n=27) had received training in geriatrics or gerontology. It was determined that nurses with a postgraduate degree, nurses who had received training in geriatrics or gerontology, and nurses who had more experience in providing care to geriatric individuals had significantly higher scores in all sub-dimensions (p<0.05). Nurses who were satisfied with older adult care had significantly higher competencies in end-of-life care (p<0.05). In the Spearman correlation analysis of the 11 sub-dimensions of the scale, all sub-dimensions showed a positive, weak/moderate, and statistically significant relationship with each other (p<0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: It is recommended to support policies and educational programs for the development of gerontology nursing.

Keywords: Competence; Gerontology; Nurse; Nursing care