Selected aspects of nursing practice related to the usage of evaluation tools for population aged over 60 years

Abstract

Introduction: The accuracy of evaluation tools is subject to several factors involving nurses. Two of these factors are the level of education and experience. These factors can significantly affect the instrument’s objectivity. In terms of providing quality and specific geriatric care, having objective evaluation tools and applying the results are essential. Objective: The research aimed to determine how nurse education and experience affect the objectivity of evaluation tools. Another aim was to determine how education and experience affected the assessment of selected areas. Methods: The research was conducted using a quantitative survey involving 501 nurses from the South Bohemian Region. The data was obtained using a non-standardized questionnaire that focused explicitly on the use of evaluation tools. Results: The results show that nurses with higher levels of education have more experience in using evaluation tools and consider the tools to be useful and effective. The same was confirmed for nurses who have more nursing experience. Conclusions: Evaluation tools are an essential part of the nursing process, and an emphasis should be placed on learning how to use these tools during nurse training. In the context of geriatric nursing, nurses need special education for the various geriatric specialties. This is also true for the use of geriatric evaluations. In clinical practice, it is necessary to use evaluation tools systematically, logically, and, above all, to implement the results into care plans.