Undergraduate Nursing Students' Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Aging: Comparison of Context-Based Learning and a Traditional Program

Abstract

<h4>ABSTRACT</h4> <P>The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward older adults in the first and fourth years of a baccalaureate program, following the introduction of a context-based learning (CBL) curriculum, and to compare the fourth-year CBL student findings to those of fourth-year students in the final year of the traditional, lecture-based baccalaureate program. The Facts on Aging Questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, and the Aging Semantic Differential was used to assess attitudes toward aging related to societal influences. Although there were differences in knowledge and attitudes between fourth-year CBL and fourth-year traditional students, the differences were not significant. These findings support earlier work that an integrated curriculum may not significantly improve knowledge of age-related changes nor positively influence attitudes that are already positive. The Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire was used to examine students’ attitudes toward personal aging. There was a significant positive increase in CBL students’ attitudes toward personal aging from the first to fourth years of the program. This suggests that CBL learning fosters an inner maturity toward personal aging. </P> <h4>AUTHORS</h4> <P>Received: August 25, 2003</P> <P>Accepted: July 15, 2005</P> <P>Dr. Williams is Associate Professor, Dr. Anderson was Associate Professor (retired), and Dr. Day is Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Planning and Undergraduate Programs, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.</P> <P>The authors thank Dr. Mahvash Salsali for the initial data entry and analyses and Wayne Day for completion of the data entry and analyses. Consultation with Dr. L. Gething facilitated interpretation of the findings on the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire. </P> <P>Address correspondence to Beverly Williams, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, 3rd Floor Clinical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G3; e-mail: <a href="mailto:beverly.williams@ualberta.ca">beverly.williams@ualberta.ca</a>.</P>

Nursing students’ knowledge and beliefs about care of older adults in a shifting context of nursing education

“…This finding may have been influenced by the combination of theory and clinical in the integrated course, providing students with the ability to apply their new knowledge in practice settings. Similarly, other scholars indicated improvements in both knowledge and beliefs among students in a gerontological course that included theory and practice components (Lange et al 2006, Williams et al 2007, albeit these courses did not integrate adult and older adult content, an important distinction of the current study.…”

“…A key point of contention in the literature is the type of clinical setting for students to learn about older adult care. Although some have argued that the frequent practice of assigning students to LTRC settings for their first clinical experiences can give the impression that older adult care is simple, and that these clinical experiences have the potential to leave nursing students with negative impressions of older adult care (Aud et al 2006, Holroyd et al 2009, Ironside et al 2010, others have suggested that these environments can be a positive place for senior level students to learn about the complexity of older adult care, offering opportunities to integrate theory and clinical learning through focused assessments and interactions with interdisciplinary teams (Williams et al 2007). Most students learn about older adult care in acute hospital environments.…”

“…It seems clear that there is a strong relationship between faculty's positive attitudes towards older adults and students' improved attitudes (McLafferty 2005, Burbank et al 2006, Plowfield et al 2006, Cozort 2008, McLafferty et al 2010. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that learning experiences that combine gerontological content with relevant practice experiences have a positive influence on students' perceptions towards older adults (Lange et al 2006, Williams et al 2007.…”

The education received by nursing students regarding nursing older people: a scoping literature review

“…To assess self-efficacy and knowledge related to prescription and over-the-counter drug interactions of students (46) Knowledge about medication Specialist knowledge required in nursing older people Knowledge significant differences regarding learning outcomes between the curricula in terms of the organisation of education (22), the content and the timing of teaching (33,67) or the delivery of the curricula (68). Regarding the teachers' competence, nursing degree programmes reported having insufficient numbers of teachers with qualifications in nursing older people (e.g.…”

Factors That Influence Dental Students’ Attitudes About Older Adults

“…11,12 Overall, the educational interventions used for nursing, medical, dental, and allied health students to date have had little to no effect on improving their general attitudes towards older adults. [27][28][29] Several investigations have studied the preexisting attitudes and beliefs that students may bring with them to school. Incoming students in both medicine and nursing have been surveyed to measure their knowledge and attitudes about older people.…”