The findings of new health research have prompted a warning about future staffing of the aged care sector.
Samantha Heath is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Unitec in West Auckland.
Her soon-to-be-published research has revealed 30% of trainee nurses surveyed nationwide do not want to work in aged care.
Heath says this is an alarming number given a quarter of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population is estimated to be aged 65 and over in the next decade.
She says action is urgently needed to boost interest in nursing careers in aged care and address signs of ageism that her research revealed.
“We need to prepare our students for seeing older adults in every place that they’re going to be allocated,” Heath says.
“There was some lessons for us in terms of how we organise students’ exposure to clinical placements. In one part of the study we had found we overused aged residential care and actually undermined the lessons that are to be learned there.”
The research has also revealed signs of ageism in local attitudes towards the elderly.
Ageism is a globally recognised issue not confined to the elderly or the health sector.
However, Heath says she was surprised at the extent of the ageist attitudes that emerged in her research.
She says implementing change as quickly as possible will be better prepare the workforce for the future.
“So what we found was there was work to do in the space,” she says. “We can reduce ageism that we’re seeing in our students.”
Te Whatu Ora Health NZ estimates 46% of the health budget is currently spent on support for people aged 65 and over.
The health entity expects this to increase to 54% by 2032/33. Its population data forecasts 21% of the population will be aged 65 and over by 2035.
Te Whatu Ora is undertaking a programme of work to supported the country’s ageing population which includes better support for those living with dementia, addressing pay disparity between residential aged care workers and hospital staff and reviewing aged care support services.
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