Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of perceived powerlessness in hospitalized elderly patients of the medical and surgical unit.
Method: The instrument for this study was the Powerlessness Behavioral Assessment Tool(Miller. 1983) . The reliability of the instruments was .85. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOYA.
Results: The results were as follows ; 1. The mean score of powerlessness was 35.02(SD= ±9.24) in a range of 19 to 64, and the mean of powerlessness was total 1.84. Among 4 subscales, the highest score was in the area of verbal response (M=1.98), and the lowest score for powerlessness was in the area of daily activities(M= 1.74). In all items, ’verbal expression of fatalism’ showed the highest score(M=2.78) , and verbal expressions of giving up’ showed the lowest score(M= 1.38). 2. There were significant differences in the level of powerlessness according to hospitalization experience(t=-3.03. p=0.006), medical treatment experience(t= .291. p= .004). Especially, there was significant difference according to the hospitalization experience of the hospital in all sub- scales.
Conclusion: Based on these conclusions, nursing education for patient’s diseases and treatment can be used for proper nursing intervention in reducing the level of powerlessness of hospitalized elderly.
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