Knowledge and Attitude Towards Geriatric Health and the Associated Factors Among Medical Students of International Islamic University Malaysia

Abstract

Comprehensive care towards geriatric health can be sustained by having good knowledge and attitude among the providers. Hence, this research aims to measure the knowledge and attitude of the final year medical students towards geriatric health and determine the associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the students using structured questionnaires of Geriatric-Attitude-Scale and Palmore-Facts-on-Aging-Quiz was used. Data was analysed using Mann Whitney U test, Chi square test and Spearman correlation coefficient analysis for the association between the score and studied variables. Median score of students’ knowledges is at 14.00 (IQR 13.00) and mean score for attitude is 48.52 (+5.53) respectively. Place of residence (P= 0.01) and presence of grandparents (P= 0.04) were the significant factors that affected knowledge of students towards geriatrics while number of siblings (P= 0.05) influenced attitudes of students towards geriatrics. Improvement of current geriatric curriculum should be done with more refined implementation of gerontology course in the basic medical learning.

Knowledge and Attitude Towards the Elderly Among Doctors and Medical Students: A Questionnaire-Based Study

“…This is lower than the 3.37 out of 5 scores among medical and nursing students in Saudi Arabia [ 6 ]. A study conducted in Malaysia that used the Geriatric Attitude Scale also concluded that its sample had moderate knowledge and attitudes regarding elderly care [ 7 ]. In 2009, two published studies explored the attitudes towards the elderly among medical students and junior doctors in Singapore.…”

“…Another study conducted in Malaysia also found medical students to have moderate knowledge about the elderly. However, it showed a statistically significant association between knowledge and attitude towards the elderly and the presence of grandparents, area of residence, and number of siblings [ 7 ].…”