Perceptions of Geriatric Medicine and Care of the Elderly: An Exploratory Survey of Physicians from the Middle East and Africa

Background The number of older people is growing in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). We aimed to explore the attitudes of MEA's physicians toward the care of the elderly and nursing homes. Methods We surveyed 137 doctors practicing in the MEA region in 2017 using an online questionnaire that included attitude scales of geriatrics and nursing homes. Results Most respondents were senior (47.1%) or in middle grades (35.3%), in public facilities (77.4%), and practiced internal medicine and subspecialties. More respondents (86%) agreed with what was perceived as the most exciting and entertaining qualities of most older people in their accounts of their past experiences. Also, 69.0% of respondents disagreed that older people need/demand no more attention or love than younger people. At the same time, 43.6% of respondents were neutral on the question relating to older people's power in business and politics. Positive attitudes, that is, older people's willingness to continue working for as long as possible, and that wisdom with age scored 61.5% was supported by 85.1 and 61.5% of the respondents, respectively. On the other hand, 53.7% of respondents agreed that older people could not adjust and change with changing circumstances, 70.9% disagreed that older people make neighborhoods less favorable. However, only 15.5% disagreed with the statement that older people cannot adjust and change with changing circumstances. Nearly two-thirds thought nursing homes were not well developed (63.0%) in the MEA region. Also, 59.8% said that the expected reimbursement is low, 57.7% were concerned about complicated medical problems, and 57.3% highlighted the deficits in training. There was low satisfaction with providing nursing home care despite agreeing that they may feel professionally satisfied providing nursing home care (49.5%). The respondents were neutral (47.3%) or somewhat agreed (42.9%) about enjoying nursing home care. Conclusion There is a suboptimal attitude of practicing physicians to geriatrics that needs improvements.