Canada’s population is aging. Most people admitted to the hospital are older in age. But, we know very little about how to support nurses to provide care to older people. Knowing how to support nurses, can help older people receive better care. In this study, we gave a survey to hospital nurses across Ontario and held focus group discussions with them to better understand their needs in taking care of older people. Some key findings from this study were:

• Older people’s care is more complex than is generally appreciated
• Nurses need advanced knowledge to provide good care to older people 
• Nurses’ ability to provide good care to older people is strongly influenced by hospital resources and hospital cultures that value older people, and support different healthcare professionals to work together
• Nurses’ decision to leave their job is strongly influenced by having the resources to do their job and how well nurses and other healthcare professionals work together.

Hospital administrators and policy-makers can use the findings to make sure nurses have good working conditions and want to continue to work in hospitals.

The study was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.