Geriatrics in medical students' curricula: questionnaire-based analysis

Implementation of a Healthcare of Elderly Course With Multi-Professional Teachers for Undergraduate Medical Students in a Public University in Malaysia-A Quasi-Experimental Pre and Post Study

Clinical practise in the ageing population is changing from organ-specific specialty care to holistic care. This is done through comprehensive geriatric assessment and multi-disciplinary team management. Hence, we adopted an approach consisting of multi-professional teachers teaching a Healthcare of Elderly Course (HEC), in a public university in Malaysia. We aimed to analyze the students' attitude, self-perceived competency and interest in geriatric medicine as a career before and after the course. We also investigated variables that might influence this interest among these students. All 96 students in the course were invited to participate in the survey. Sixty-eight (70.8%) completed both pre and post-course questionnaires. Although most students (93%) have a positive attitude (University of California at Los Angeles Geriatric Attitude Scale >3) toward older adults at baseline, it did not significantly increase post-course. We found that the mean scores for self-perceived competency increased from 3.62 (±0.76) to 3.81 (±0.56) post-course (p < 0.01). However, the students remained neutral with no significant change in the mean interest in pursuing a geriatric medicine career after the course. Students with higher self-perceived competency post-course were found to be more interested in geriatric medicine (β = 0.56, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the HEC in our centre could sustain a positive attitude and increase self-perceived competency in students. It is important to increase the preparedness of our graduates in managing older adults with frailty and multimorbidity. Future studies may involve inter-professional education of students from multiple disciplines undergoing the same course to nurture real-life collaborations in managing the ageing population.

The missing link: Finding space for gerontology content into university curricula in South Africa

The rapid increase in the global elderly population has been widely documented in both demographic and popular literature in recent decades. Population estimates produced by the national statistical service of South Africa in 2017 show that the proportion of elderly (60 years and older) in South Africa is growing fast, reaching 8.1% of the total population in 2017. The country is set to experience a doubling of the population over the age of 65 by the year 2020. Similar to their counterparts in the developed world, tertiary institutions throughout Africa too are faced with the challenge of training professionals capable of understanding and responding to the socioeconomic consequences, social priorities, and complex needs of an increasing aging population. The right set of policies can equip individuals, families, and societies to address the challenges of an aging population. After conducting an extensive literature review, we recommend that policy-makers in South Africa should look into ways that will enable them to meet the many challenges of an aging population in the coming decades. One way to address this issue would be to include gerontology content into the curricula of programs in the humanities and social sciences.

Effects of an integrated geriatric group balance class within an entry-level Doctorate of Physical Therapy program on students' perceptions of geriatrics and geriatric education in the United States

This study was aimed at determining the effect of an integrated group balance class for community-dwelling older adults within entry-level physical therapist coursework on student perceptions of geriatric physical therapy and geriatric physical therapy education. Twenty-nine Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, 21-33 years old, in their second year of coursework in 2012, participated in an integrated clinical experience with exposure to geriatric patients at an outpatient facility at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Akron, Ohio, USA. Student perceptions were collected before and after participation in the 8-week balance class. The Wilcoxon sign-ranked test was used to identify differences in perceptions after participation in the group balance class. Cohen's d values were calculated to measure the size of the pre-participation to post-participation effect for each measure. At the conclusion of the group class, the DPT students demonstrated an increase in positive perceptions of geriatric physical therapy in 8 measures, with small effect sizes (d=0.15-0.30). Two perceptions of geriatric physical therapy demonstrated a significant positive increase (P<.05) with moderate effect sizes (d=0.47 and d=0.50). The students' perceptions of geriatric education in the curriculum demonstrated a large positive effect for quality (d=1.68) and enjoyment (d=1.96). Positive changes were found in most of the perceptions of geriatrics and geriatric education after participation, suggesting that integrated clinical experiences with geriatric patients are an effective way to positively influence perceptions of physical therapist practice with older adults.