[Undergraduate geriatric education in foreign countries]

Aging populations and perspectives of geriatric medicine in Japan

It is well known that Japan's population is aging, and the number of people older than 75 years is increasing significantly. Since older people, especially old individuals, are often multimorbid and cannot be always successfully treated and cared for by individual organ-specific treatment, it is essential to utilize knowledge of geriatrics when treating such older patients. Therefore, it is indisputable that education on geriatric medicine is extremely important in Japan, which is the country with the largest aging population. However, the number of universities in Japan that offer geriatrics courses is decreasing. This means that many medical students become doctors without learning the essential characteristics of medical care for older patients despite the need for prompt treatment of older patients in clinical practice in Japan, which is a major obstacle to the development of geriatric medicine in Japan. Here, we review the current status of geriatrics in Japan and overseas and consider the future of geriatrics education to provide holistic and cost-effective medical care for older patients and improve their quality of life and well-being.

Proposing a communication module to enhance dental students' attitudes towards people with dementia: Phase 1 of a curriculum revision study

INTRODUCTION

The number of mentally altered patients a dentist meets in practice is increasing and interaction with them can be very challenging. As a baseline for an interventional study, we want to assess the attitude of dental students and identify areas of improvement in patient communication. This work compares the attitude of dental students towards people suffering from dementia to the attitudes of trained medical caregivers and the general population. Our aim is to use the results to assess the need for training in communicating with mentally altered patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fourth-year dental students attended two lectures on dementia given by a psychiatrist as part of the geriatric dentistry lecture and were questioned afterwards using the Dementia Attitude Scale. In 2016 and 2017, 73 students at the University of Greifswald were interviewed. The response rate was 84%. Using a factor analysis, the Dementia Attitude Scale's validated questions were interpreted and compared with data from nursing staff from Switzerland and the USA.

RESULTS

The factor analysis of the data showed the same two-factor loadings as the comparative groups, and that dental students' attitude is more comparable to the general population than to medically trained nursing staff.

CONCLUSION

Given the results, we conclude that the implementation of a communication module can serve in improving the attitude of dental students towards patients with dementia.