Improving Older Adults’ Health Care Experience: Geriatrics Education for Occupational Therapists

PURPOSE: There is a shortage of health care providers competent to work with older adults. Lack of staff competence may affect patient satisfaction and experience. This study tested the efficacy of an electronic educational module on providers’ knowledge of aging, knowledge of communicating with older adults, and attitudes toward older adults.

METHOD:This study used a single-group, repeated measures design with a nonequivalent dependent variable (NEDV). Occupational therapists were among a sample (N = 197 at pretest) of health care professionals recruited from a comprehensive cancer center from four job groups: (1) allied health professionals, (2) technical skilled professionals, (3) support and service staff, and (4) clerical staff. Exclusion criteria included working <20 hr/wk; working exclusively in a pediatrics (relevance), surgery, research, or laboratory setting; and serving primarily in a director role (limited 1:1 patient interaction) or in geriatrics (learner bias).

A 6-min electronic educational module was created with the following components: ageism, comorbid conditions in older adulthood, and role of the family in caring for older adults. Participants completed measures 1 mo before viewing the educational module (pretest), immediately after viewing the module (posttest), and at 2-mo follow-up. All data collection instruments were emailed anonymously via a link to Qualtrics (Provo, UT). Knowledge of aging was measured using Palmore’s (1977) Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ1). Knowledge of communicating with older adults was assessed using a three-item measure constructed by the author with questions about speaking to older adults. Attitudes toward older adults were measured using the Refined Aging Semantic Differential (Polizzi, 2003). Job satisfaction, the NEDV, was measured using the Facet Satisfaction Scale.

Results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Univariate analyses were performed for descriptive statistics and frequencies. Bivariate analysis was conducted for associations and correlations between participants’ personal and professional characteristics and mean scores on outcome measures. Pairwise comparisons across all time points were conducted for mean difference in participants’ scores on outcome measures. Multivariate analyses were conducted with regression models for knowledge because this outcome measure resulted in the most change among the sample.

RESULTS: For knowledge of aging, mean scores increased linearly and significantly across the three time points, F(1, 37) = 9.59, p = .004. Pairwise comparisons between mean scores found significant difference from pretest to follow-up (p < .01). No significant change in mean scores was found for knowledge of communicating with older adults, F(1, 37) = 0.28, p = .600, attitudes toward older adults, F(1, 36) = 0.03, p = .858, or job satisfaction, F(1, 36) = 1.03, p = .318. Years since educational degree was negatively correlated with FAQ1 scores at all three time points; age, type of degree, and job category were predictors of FAQ1 scores.

CONCLUSION:The educational module yielded greater knowledge of aging among occupational therapists. Knowledge of communicating with older adults and attitudes toward older adults were not affected. Further research is needed to determine educational tools to improve occupational therapy practitioners’ attitudes toward and communication with older adults. Job satisfaction was static, as hypothesized; it was an NEDV, and the educational module was not designed to influence it.

IMPACT STATEMENT:Findings of this study can inform geriatrics curriculum development and delivery mode for occupational therapy practitioners and support the use of electronic learning modules in acute care hospital settings. Geriatrics education is essential to heighten occupational therapy practitioners’ awareness of geriatric syndromes and dispel ageism to promote best practice, client–practitioner interaction, and the health care experience for geriatric patients and their caregivers.

References

Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976).Social indicators of well-being: Americans’ perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.

Bardach, S. H., & Rowles, G. D. (2012). Geriatric education in the health professions: Are we making progress? Gerontologist, 52, 607–618. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gns006

Palmore, E. (1977). Facts on Aging: A short quiz.Gerontologist, 17, 315–320. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/17.4.315

Polizzi, K. (2003). Assessing attitudes toward the elderly: Polizzi’s refined version of the Aging Semantic Differential.Educational Gerontology, 29, 197–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/713844306

Salt, E., Rowles, G. D., & Reed, D. B. (2012). Patient’s perception of quality patient–provider communication. Orthopaedic Nursing, 31, 169–176. https://doi.org/10.1097/NOR.0b013e3182558cdb