The impact of a gerontology nursing course with a service-learning component on student attitudes towards working with older adults: A mixed methods study

Abstract Introduction: Students in the Frontiers in Human Aging course at UCLA participate in service-learning (SL) with older adults. In 2020, completion of SL coincided with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the impact of SL on student attitudes on aging and community service in the context of the pandemic. Methods: Students were assigned to senior residential and daycare programs for 18-20 hours of SL. A retrospective pretest-posttest survey asked about attitudes and interests before and after SL and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected these perceptions; 73 (of 103) students responded. Mean differences before and after SL were tested and differences were assessed within groups reporting COVID-19 effects. Results: SL improved students’ attitudes and ability to engage with older adults, knowledge about aging concepts, interest in future work with older adults, attitudes on community service, social well-being and feelings of usefulness (p<0.001). There was no significant change in overall anxiety about aging (p=0.1), however, students showed increased anxiety about losing independence and finances when older (p<0.05). At least 50% of students reported that the COVID-19 pandemic increased their awareness of needs of older adults (81.9%) and decreased connection to their peers (50.7%); the impact of SL remained unchanged by these effects. Conclusion: Despite the overall benefits of SL, increased anxiety about aspects of aging suggests the need to address these concerns. While the COVID-19 pandemic did not seem to affect the impact of SL, this event did seem to influence perceptions about aging and social integration.

Download Full-text

Investigating the impact of an inclusive teaching session on medical student attitudes towards patients with intellectual disabilities: a mixed methods study

The British Student Doctor ◽

10.18573/bsdj.120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Rubab Abdi ◽

Elizabeth Metcalf

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Intellectual Disabilities ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Teaching Session ◽

Inclusive Teaching ◽

Medical Student Attitudes ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

A mixed-methods study evaluating the impact of an excursion-based social group on quality of life of older adults

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02295-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joyce Siette ◽

Mikaela Jorgensen ◽

Amy Nguyen ◽

Gilbert Knaggs ◽

Stuart Miller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Aged Care ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Care Staff ◽

Care Services ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Social isolation is an increasing concern for older adults who live in the community. Despite some availability of social support programs to address social isolation, their effectiveness is not routinely measured. This study aimed to evaluate an innovative excursion-based program offering unique social experiences to older adults receiving aged care services. Methods This six-month before and after mixed-methods study evaluated the outcomes of an Australian excursion-based program which offered social and physical outings to bring older adults receiving aged care services into the wider community. The study combined two parts: Part 1 was a pre-post survey assessing the quality of life of older adults who received the excursion-based program for 6 months (n = 56; two time-points, analysed using signed rank test) and Part 2 involved qualitative in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 24 aged care staff, older adults and carers; analysed using thematic analysis). Results Older adults experienced a significant increase in quality of life scores (p < 0.001) between baseline and 6 months. Interviews confirmed these observations and suggested that benefits of participation included increased opportunities for social participation, psychological wellbeing, physical function, and carer respite. Interviews also revealed being in a group setting, having tailored, convenient and accessible activities, alongside supportive staff were key drivers in improving the wellbeing of participants. Conclusions Participating in an excursion-based community program may improve wellbeing in older adults. Aging policy should focus on prioritizing initiatives that promote social connectivity with the wider community and assist in improving outcomes for older adults.

Download Full-text

The impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on social and daily activities of parents, people with disabilities and older adults: Protocol for a longitudinal, mixed-methods study. (Preprint)

JMIR Research Protocols ◽

10.2196/28337 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Holly Reid ◽

William Cameron Miller ◽

Elham Esfandiari ◽

Somayyeh Mohammadi ◽

Isabelle Rash ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Daily Activities ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

The Impact of TimeSlips on Undergraduate Students in Service Learning With Older Adults

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-20-00171 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Sabine Heuer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Service Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽

Students Attitudes ◽

Attitude Shift ◽

The Impact ◽

Journal Entries

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.

Download Full-text

Insights from an early stage development mixed methods study on arts-based interventions for older adults following hospitalisation

Complementary Therapies in Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102745 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102745

Author(s):

Amanda M. Clifford ◽

Joanne Shanahan ◽

Hilary Moss ◽

Triona Cleary ◽

Morgan Senter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Early Stage ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Stage Development

Download Full-text

Acute care nurses’ perceptions of leadership, teamwork, turnover intention and patient safety – a mixed methods study

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-021-00652-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shahram Zaheer ◽

Liane Ginsburg ◽

Hannah J. Wong ◽

Kelly Thomson ◽

Lorna Bain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Turnover Intention ◽

Interactive Effect ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Senior Leadership ◽

Healthcare Organizations ◽

Staff Perceptions ◽

Leadership Support ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background This study contributes to a small but growing body of literature on how context influences perceptions of patient safety in healthcare settings. We examine the impact of senior leadership support for safety, supervisory leadership support for safety, teamwork, and turnover intention on overall patient safety grade. Interaction effects of predictors on perceptions of patient safety are also examined. Methods In this mixed methods study, cross-sectional survey data (N = 185) were collected from nurses and non-physician healthcare professionals. Semi-structured interview data (N = 15) were collected from nurses. The study participants worked in intensive care, general medicine, mental health, or the emergency department of a large community hospital in Southern Ontario. Results Hierarchical regression analyses showed that staff perceptions of senior leadership (p < 0.001), teamwork (p < 0.01), and turnover intention (p < 0.01) were significantly associated with overall patient safety grade. The interactive effect of teamwork and turnover intention on overall patient safety grade was also found to be significant (p < 0.05). The qualitative findings corroborated the survey results but also helped expand the characteristics of the study’s key concepts (e.g., teamwork within and across professional boundaries) and why certain statistical relationships were found to be non-significant (e.g., nurse interviewees perceived the safety specific responsibilities of frontline supervisors much more broadly compared to the narrower conceptualization of the construct in the survey). Conclusions The results of the current study suggest that senior leadership, teamwork, and turnover intention significantly impact nursing staff perceptions of patient safety. Leadership is a modifiable contextual factor and resources should be dedicated to strengthen relational competencies of healthcare leaders. Healthcare organizations must also proactively foster inter and intra-professional collaboration by providing teamwork educational workshops or other on-site learning opportunities (e.g., simulation training). Healthcare organizations would benefit by considering the interactive effect of contextual factors as another lever for patient safety improvement, e.g., lowering staff turnover intentions would maximize the positive impact of teamwork improvement initiatives on patient safety.

Download Full-text

UTILIZING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TO INFORM COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR OLDER ADULTS: A SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1974 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S537-S538

Author(s):

Amanda E Barnett ◽

Sara Olinger

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Service Learning ◽

Best Practices ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Community Resources ◽

Home Visitor ◽

Aging Societies ◽

Theory Research ◽

The Impact

Abstract Engaging undergraduate students with aging-focused community resources is critical for preparing students to work with older adults and make positive contributions to aging societies. During the fall, 2018 semester, undergraduate students in a human development course on middle and late adulthood partnered with a county aging and disability resource center (ADRC) in Wisconsin to evaluate and update several of their existing programs and resources using empirical research. Upon completion of this project, students synthesized course material to meet all course learning objectives such as: (1) critically analyze physical, psychological, and sociological processes of aging across categories of difference (e.g. cultural, ethnic, class); (2) evaluate social policies and their multigenerational implications for midlife and older adults; and (3) construct a personal position on aging that integrates theory, research, and policy to demonstrate a sensitive and competent approach to working with midlife and older adults. Students researched, wrote reports, and presented to ADRC staff on the impact of social isolation on older adults, best practices for home visitor and transportation programs serving older adults, cognitive competency tools and best practices for utilizing memory assessments, grief supports and groups for family caregivers, and best practices for supporting veterans as they age. The outcome of these projects are research-based recommendations for any ADRC to consider when developing and implementing related programs. All stakeholders (students, professor, and ADRC staff) were satisfied with the process and outcomes of the project. Strengths and challenges of carrying out such a collaborative project will be reviewed.

Download Full-text