The Influence of an Educational Programme upon the Attitudes of Nursing Students toward the Care of Ill Older People: a Critical Realist Evaluation Study

14 List of Abbreviations 15 Chapter One Introduction 16 1:0 Introduction to the Study 16 1:1 Background and Rationale to the Study 16 1:1:1 Ageing and the status of older people in society 19 1:2 Aim and Objectives 21 1:3 Critical Realism 22 1:3:1 Structure and agency 23 1:3:2 Mechanisms 24 1:3:3 A stratified and differentiated reality 25 1:3:4 Positivism and post-positivism 27 1:4 Functional Approaches to Attitude Change 29 1:5 Rationale for the Development of the Study Design 31 1:6 Research Hypothesis Development and Methodology 34 1:7 Populations and Samples 37 1:8 Ethical Considerations 38 1:9 Realist Evaluation 40 1:10 Summary 41 Chapter Two Review of the Literature 43 2:0 Introduction 43 2:1 Search Methodology 43 2:1:1 Data reduction and analysis 46 Part I 46 2:2 The Status of the Nursing Care of Older People 46