本研究旨在探討臺灣地區衛生所公共衛生護理人員，於照護老年個案所具備的知識、能度與能力，及影響照護能力之因素。本研究以自編之結構式開卷測試，共獲306份有效問卷，所得資料應用頻數、百分比、平均值、標準差、t檢定、Pearson's相關、單因子變異數分析、逐步複迴歸等方法分析，結果發現:(1)公共衛生護理人員在「老年人照護知識量表」的平均得分為27.34分(滿分46分) ，標準差7.5分，最低值為－17分，最高值為42分。(2)公共衛生護理人 員對老年人照護之態度略偏於正向。(3)公共衛生護理人員在「自評是老人照護能力量表」的平均得分為105.07分(總分200分)，相當於「困難」程度，分數高低以提供居家用藥與疾病觀測之能力最高。(4)影響父共衛生護理人員照護老年個案能力之因素:與在學期間是否修過老年護理學、是否曾經接受有關老年人護理之在職訓練、衛生所分級、及臨床護理工作年資等有正相關。

The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitude, and ability of public health nurses' in caring for elderly clients in Taiwan, and to evaluate the possible factors affecting the nurses' ability. A structured questionnaire used in this study was designed by the investigator. A total of 306 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The data was presented as percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, pearson's correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression. The following are the results of this study: (1) The average score among public health nurses on knowledge of caring for elderly clients is 27.34 (SD = 7.5). (2) The attitude of public health nurses towards caring for elderly clients tends to be positive. (3) Public health nurses' average assessment of their own ability to care for elderly clients was that they experienced difficulty. The best perceived performance was in admistering medicines at home and checking well-being. (4) The factors affecting public health nurses' ability to care for elderly clients include: whether they had taken geriatric nursing during training, whether they had taken workshop training in the geriatric field, the classification of the public health unit, years of clinical experience, etc.