28th Annual Student Research Conference
Health Professions' Student Attitudes on Working with Older Adults
Katie G. Shannon♦* and Kaitlyn M. McManus
Dr. Julia D. Edgar and Dr. Carol Cox, Faculty Mentors
With the increase in the older adult population, there is a critical need for healthcare professionals trained in gerontological care. 285 health professions students were surveyed using the Carolina Opinions on Care of Older Adults (COCOA) on their attitudes on working with the elderly before and after participating in a semester- long, interdisciplinary program. During the program, students learned about elderly-specific health concerns and participated in home visits. Pre-attitude data was compared with post -attitude data to indicate program effectiveness. Although the results did not indicate an attitude change in most sub-scales, there was significant attitude improvement in the category of early interest in geriatrics. Due to the lack of positive results, specific aspects of the program were considered as possible explanations of study findings.
Keywords: Geriatrics, Healthcare, Interdisciplinary
Topic(s):Communication Disorders
Health Science
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-3
Location: GEO-SUB
Time: 3:30
♦ Indicates Truman Graduate Student