poster abstractBecause patient satisfaction impacts Medicare reimbursement for hospitals today, it is important
to look at factors that affect patient satisfaction and patient perceptions of caring. Old-old and oldest old
populations are vastly growing and make up the majority of those receiving Medicare benefits. Current
research supports older adults’ greater need for relational aspects of care, but little focus has been placed
on the effect of non-modifiable factors such as age and education level and perceived health related to
patient perceptions of nurse caring behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine relationships
between age, education level, and perceived health and older adult’s perceptions of nurse caring
behaviors. A secondary analysis was conducted using data from a quantitative study of nurse caring
behaviors using the Caring Assessment Tool (CAT). Of 321 subjects in the original study, s sub-sample
of 45 adults age 75 and older who reported education level and perceived health were included.
Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Statistical significance was found on the
relationship between education and patient CAT scores (p=.003). There was no significant relationship
between patient’s perceived health or age and CAT score (p= 0.8). These results show that there is
importance in non-modifiable factors, specifically education, when looking at patient perceptions of nurse
caring which could impact patient satisfaction scores. Because education is a non-modifiable patient
characteristic, healthcare providers must focus on ways to address hospitalized older adult patients’ needs
with education levels in mind. Future implications include devising interventions for nurses and other
health care staff to improve care for patients of all education levels and how interventions effect patient
perceptions of nurse caring. Further study about patients’ perceptions of care is indicated to identify
specific needs of patients with varied education levels and their perceptions of nursing care
