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Introduction At the present juncture, the aging population is a global phenomenon, which results in increased demand for health services, making this event a huge challenge for professionals. In this perspective, it becomes essential to assess the knowledge they have about the elderly, as well as the attitudes they adopt in order to understand if the stereotypes that society has towards aging are reflected or not in the provision of healthcare. Objectives To assess the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals facing the elderly and ascertain to what extent sociodemographic variables and professionals exert significant effects on them. Methodology This was a cross-sectional, descriptive- correlational study, of quantitative and analytical nature, attended by 320 health professionals from the central region of Portugal. The data collection instrument integrates a sociodemographic and professional questionnaire, the Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire regarding the Aging and the Kogan OP Scale - Attitudes towards the elderly. For the statistical analysis we used SPSS version 20. Results The study population is mostly female, lives accompanied, has an average age of 38.06 years and has a degree as academic qualification. We also verified that the professionals do not have specific training in gerontology, have poor knowledge about the elderly (stereotyped) but show positive attitudes in relation to them. Conclusions Health professionals who present more favourable attitudes toward the elderly are of the female gender, those of younger age, of more academic training in gerontology and especially those working in Primary Health Care. Key message Knowledge and attitudes of health professionals facing the elderly.
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