Physiotherapy students' attitudes towards and knowledge of older people

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' attitudes towards and knowledge of older people changed throughout the physiotherapy undergraduate program. Students' demographic information and attitudes towards and knowledge of older people were gathered via repeated question-responses over three points of time during the 4-year program. Validated instruments--the Geriatric Attitudinal Scale (GAS) and the Facts on Ageing Quiz 1 (FAQ1)--were used to measure participants' attitudes and knowledge of older people. The FAQ1 yielded two variables: knowledge as percentage of FAQ1 correct responses, and ignorance as percentage of FAQ1 Don't Know responses. The instruments were administered in Year 2 prior to the students' first clinical (Time 1), immediately after their first clinical (Time 2), and Year 4 just prior to completion of the program (Time 3). Changes over time were analysed using paired t-tests with significance set at p < 0.05. Participants initially demonstrated positive attitudes towards older people with a mean of 73.8% GAS positive responses with no significant change over time (p = 0.56). Initial knowledge about older people was poor with a mean of 43.6% FAQ1 correct responses which increased significantly over time to 51.7% (p = 0.0001). This improvement in knowledge was accompanied by a decrease in ignorance over the study period (p = 0.0001). While attitudes toward older people were positive and knowledge improved over time, the level of knowledge attained was below expectation for beginning practitioners. This finding has implications for the education and training of physiotherapy students.     

Do occupational therapy and physiotherapy students care about research? A survey of perceptions and attitudes to research

Do occupational therapy and physiotherapy students care about research? A survey of perceptions and attitudes to research In this cross‐sectional study, we have used a questionnaire to study perceptions and attitudes to research‐related activities of Swedish occupational therapy and physiotherapy first (T1) and final term (T6) students. Two hundred and eleven students from programmes employing either problem‐based learning (PBL) or traditional education methods participated. The results showed that students had a positive attitude towards research, particularly for the activity ‘read research literature to update knowledge’ and ‘apply research findings to improve practice’. When T1 were compared with T6 students, the ability to perform research‐related activities was rated significantly higher by T6 students regardless of educational methods. A comparison of PBL and the traditional educational method resulted in moderate but significant differences. The PBL students had a more positive attitude towards research and to a greater extent intended to engage in research activities in the future. The results give hope for a positive future development of the occupational therapy and physiotherapy professions and a PBL education method may be more conducive to the shaping of a research consumer than a traditional method, although more research is needed to substantiate these claims.     

Attitudes Toward Disability

The work of health rofessionals is directly influenced by somatopsychological attitudes. Expectations from the disabled person, from health professionals, and from society play an important part in adjustment to disability. Role theory has helped us look at the "sick role" versus the disabled role and we now realize that role confusion often interferes with the adjustment process. It is important that students be made aware of these different theories to help them get in touch with their own feelings about disability and develop an understanding of attitudes which will facilitate the adjustment process. An instrument measuring attitudes toward the disabled was administered to two successive junior occupational therapy classes, at the beginning and the end of the school year. Change in attitudes was analyzed and positive significant results were discussed in relation to implications for education and practice.     

Understanding occupational therapy students' attitudes, intentions, and behaviors regarding community service.

Community-based practice has always been a central domain of occupational therapy, and evidence supporting its increasing importance is growing. Preparing occupational therapy students for community practice has received considerable attention in professional literature, but students' voices have seldom been heard concerning this issue. This study sought to investigate attitudes, intentions, and behaviors regarding community service among occupational therapy students enrolled in one professional program using the Community Service Attitudes Survey. We present the Theory of Planned Behavior as a conceptual framework linking students' attitudes and intentions with behaviors. Results indicate that these occupational therapy students' attitudes and intentions regarding community service tended to be more strongly positive than those of their counterparts in other allied health disciplines; however, the community service behaviors of occupational therapy students were not significantly different from those of other allied health students, possibly because occupational therapy students perceived high costs to community service.     

Enabling or disabling? Students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities are devalued by society. Occupational therapists may be contributing to this devaluation through their attitudes. This study focused on the attitudes of undergraduate students. From a sample of 223 occupational therapy students and 326 business students at an Australian university, it was found, with the use of the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale-Form A (Yuker, Block, & Young, 1966), that the attitudes of freshman occupational therapy students did not differ significantly from those of their business-major peers. Furthermore, the occupational therapy students' attitudes did not vary with the years of undergraduate education completed. However, those students who had had contact with persons with disabilities beyond the context of a caregiver-care receiver relationship (i.e., those students who had assumed roles that emphasized valued attributes of the person with a disability) had significantly more positive attitudes than did those students without such contact. Educational curricula must address the issue of students' attitudes and, in particular, the facilitation of valued social role contact with persons with disabilities.     

The Beliefs and Attitudes of Physiotherapy Students in Scotland Toward Older People

The beliefs and attitudes of physiotherapists/physiotherapy students toward elders are poorly represented in the literature with several authors highlighting the importance of pre-registration education in determining attitudes of healthcare staff. This study investigated and compared first and fourth year undergraduate physiotherapy students' beliefs and attitudes toward older people and explored if any association existed between student characteristics and attitudes. A convenience sample of 175 students completed a questionnaire. Students' attitudes toward older people were found to be mainly neutral or positive but some differences were found between first and fourth year students' attitudes and ageist tendencies were detected in some students. Previous contact with fit/healthy elders and teaching specifically about the needs of older people had a positive effect on attitudes. Students described “a person over 70” using mainly negative stereotypical traits and themselves at 70 mainly positively.     

A Single Clinical Experience in a Nursing Home Improves Physiotherapy Students' Attitudes Towards,and Confidence to Communicate With,Older People

ABSTRACT

Aims: To evaluate how an early, single clinical experience in a nursing home influences physiotherapy students' attitudes towards older people and self-perceived confidence in communication. Methods: 102 Bachelor and 32 Master pre-registration physiotherapy students participated in a single visit to a nursing home, during which they interviewed (with educator support) an older person. Students completed surveys addressing their attitudes towards older people (Geriatrics Attitudes Scale), self-perceived confidence in communication (pre- and post-visit), and satisfaction with the innovation. Results: Bachelor students reported a positive change in attitudes towards older people for 3 Geriatrics Attitudes Scale items (P < 0.035). Bachelor and Master students demonstrated greater perceived confidence in their ability to perform several communication tasks with older people (P < 0.018) post-intervention, and reported high satisfaction towards the learning innovation. Conclusions: A single, early exposure to a nursing home can positively influence aspects of physiotherapy students' attitudes and perceived communication skills related to gerontology.     

Attitudes to disability of Russian occupational therapy and nursing students

Positive student attitudes toward disability are essential to client-centred rehabilitation. Instilling such attitudes in students enrolled in the first occupational therapy (OT) and post-diploma nursing management (NM) courses in Russia was a key objective of the curriculum development team. The team's aim was to combat the traditional Russian attitude of pity, dependence and marginalization. To this end, the introductory classes were developed and taught by teachers from the All Russia Society of Disabled (ARSD). This paper examines the attitudes to disability in Russia and compares the attitudes of three groups of students. Students in the OT and NM programmes (n = 18) in Volgograd were compared to other nursing students in the same college (n = 21) and to nursing students in a Moscow medical school (n = 20). All completed the Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP). The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U statistics revealed that students in the OT and NM programmes had significantly more positive scores (P = 0.01) than either of the other groups. This suggests that the strategies adopted by the curriculum team were successful in developing positive attitudes in students.     

Influence of occupational therapy curricula on students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities.

The influence of occupational therapy curricula on students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities was studied. Twenty-six female students in either their first or fourth (i.e, final) semester of the occupational therapy curriculum were assessed with the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) (Yukor, Block, & Younng, 1966). A comparison group, 26 female students in either their first or fourth semester of the medical technology program, was also assessed with this scale. As hypothesized, the fourth-semester occupational therapy students showed significantly higher scores than did the other three groups of subjects. Also as predicted, this same group showed significantly higher scores than their first-semester counterparts and the fourth-semester medical technology students. No significant difference was found between first-semester and fourth-semester medical technology students. The occupational therapy curriculum appears to positively influence students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities.     

Effect of contact on nursing students' attitudes to patients.

Shortly before and shortly after they went on district nurse and mental handicap placements the attitudes of university nursing students to elderly people, people who are disabled and people with a mental handicap were assessed. Before the placements the students had a more favourable attitude towards elderly people and towards those who are disabled than towards those with a mental handicap. After the placements their attitudes towards those with a disability had improved. These findings are discussed with reference to the character of the placements.     

The impact of volunteering in mental health settings on nursing students' attitudes

Nursing faculties are working to improve students’ attitudes towards mental illness and people with severe mental illness, given the repercussions a lack of knowledge and negative attitudes may have on the quality of care. Complementing undergraduate programmes with volunteering activities affords students the opportunity to interact with people with a severe mental illness, and allow them to develop positive attitudes and overcome prejudice. Aim: to explore and deepen in nursing students attitudes prior to and following volunteering on an Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit. By means of mixed methods approach, students were assessed at two time points by questionnaires including “Community Attitudes to Mental Illness” and “Semantic Differential”, and by testimonies gathered from interviews. Positives changes in attitudes were identified and monitored over time capturing a destigmatizing tendency. The participation in educational strategies such as volunteering in Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit, complementary to undergraduate programmes and clinical placements in mental health, allows nursing students to develop more diversified and positive attitudes towards mental illness and people with severe mental illness. The impact of an interventional education strategy is not as powerful in nursing students as it might be in students of other non-healthcare oriented university degrees due to their baseline attitudes.     

Do Physiotherapy Students Demonstrate Ageist Attitude? A Scoping Review of Literature.

Aims: To describe attitudes of physiotherapy students toward older adults and their interest in working with them; and to identify factors that may influence physiotherapy students' attitude, knowledge and beliefs toward older adults or interest in working with them. Methods: We used the five-step scoping review approach described by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). We obtained studies published or in press between 2000 and 2016 of attitudes of physiotherapy students towards older adults either alone or among other groups. We excluded qualitative studies, opinion papers and articles focused on determining the psychometric properties of questionnaires. Two independent coders identify the major themes in the included studies. Results: Fourteen studies met criteria and were reviewed in detail. All reported that physiotherapy students have positive attitude towards older adults. Only four studies reported physiotherapy students' interest in working with older adults, of which three reported low interest and one reported moderate interest. Contact with older adults before entering physiotherapy education was the only factor that showed a consistently positive influence on attitudes toward older adults. Conclusions: Physiotherapy students do not demonstrate ageist attitude but have low interest in working with older adults.     

A two-week stay in an Interprofessional Training Unit changes students' attitudes to health professionals

Attitudes amongst health professionals can impact on the effectiveness of teamworking and patient care. Interprofessional education (IPE) is thought to contribute to the development of positive attitudes. An Interprofessional Training Unit (ITU) was set up to create an optimal learning environment for healthcare students. Students' attitudes were assessed, using a version of the Attitudes to Health Professionals Questionnaire (AHPQ) that had been translated into the students' native language. This paper describes the process undertaken to obtain a trustworthy translation. One hundred and sixty two students from occupational therapy, physiotherapy, medicine and nursing completed the questionnaire before and after their stay at the ITU. Their responses were analysed in relation to the constructs “caring” and “subservient” from the validated English version of AHPQ. Echoing earlier studies elsewhere, at the beginning students viewed doctors as being the least “caring” and the least “subservient” professional group. Nurses were seen by the students as being the most “caring” and the most “subservient” profession. After the ITU experience students viewed most professions as more “caring” and less “subservient”, apart from doctors, who were seen as being more subservient after the ITU experience. This study indicates that an IPE initiative such as the ITU can impact positively on students' attitudes and that the translated AHPQ can be used to monitor this attitudinal change.     

Does gender matter? Differences between students at an interprofessional training ward

Abstract

Studies on graduates’ transitions from education into clinical work highlight inequalities concerning how women and men experience their professional learning and development. This study explores how female and male students from different programs within the health care education system (i.e. medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy programmes) experience an interprofessional training ward (IPTW) as a part of their professional identity formation. Students from the medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy programmes collaborate in teams during two weeks at one of three IPTWs at the medical school, Linköping University. They together take the responsibility for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the patients, albeit with professional supervisors as support. During 2010 to 2011, 454 (93%) of the 488 students who practiced at the IPTWs answered a questionnaire on their experiences of the IPTW. The students stated that the IPTW had positively influenced their professional development. The female and male medical students were significantly less positive than other female and male students, respectively, concerning the value of IPTW. The male students from all programmes were slightly, but significantly, less positive than all the female students. These findings show that students “do gender” as an integral part of the educational practice. It is important to scrutinise the IPTW as an educational practice, influencing students’ preparation for future work. Gender should be discussed not only during the IPTW rotation but also in general during the curriculum for all healthcare programmes.     

Attitudes towards people with physical or intellectual disabilities: nursing students and non‐nursing peers

Title. Attitudes towards people with physical or intellectual disabilities: nursing students and non‐nursing peers. Aim. This paper is a report of a study of the attitudes of Dutch nursing students towards people with physical or intellectual disabilities. Background. Attitudes of healthcare professionals are a major factor in the rehabilitation and self‐acceptance of persons with disabilities. Consequently, it is important that nurses develop or maintain positive attitudes towards people with disabilities during their education. However, more knowledge is needed about current attitudes of nursing students and factors influencing these attitudes. Methods. A sample of Dutch nursing students (n = 81) and an age‐matched group of non‐nursing peers (n = 48) completed standardized scales measuring attitudes about physically or intellectually disabled people. Data were collected in 2006. Findings. Nursing students were more positive towards physically disabled people than their peers, and more strongly endorsed empowerment and similarity of intellectually disabled people. These attitudinal differences generally remained statistically significant after multivariate adjustment for demographic variables and experience and contact with individuals with disabilities. An important independent determinant of a positive attitude towards physically disabled people in the total sample was having a relative or friend with a physical disability. This association, however, was not apparent in attitudes towards intellectually disabled persons. Conclusion. Educational interventions aimed at improving attitudes towards people with disabilities should include focus on forms of contact beyond the context of formal care relationships.     

Readiness for interprofessional learning: a cross-faculty comparison between architecture and occupational therapy students

Abstract

Health and wellbeing includes a need for built environments to accommodate and be inclusive of the broadest range of people and a corresponding need to ensure graduates are ready to engage in this field of interprofessional and inter-industry practise. All too often, interprofessional education in higher education is neglected with a tendency towards educational silos, particularly at a cross-faculty level. This paper reports on an initiative that embedded universal design practice education into the curricula of first year architecture and third year occupational therapy students and evaluated the impact on students’ readiness for interprofessional learning. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was given to students at the beginning and end of the semester during which students participated in a variety of online and face-to-face curriculum initiatives. Results showed that at the beginning of semester, occupational therapy students were significantly more positive about interprofessional learning than their architecture counterparts. Post-results showed that this trend continued but that occupational therapy students became less positive on some items after the interprofessional learning experience. This study provides insights into the interprofessional learning experiences of a group of students who have not previously been studied within the available literature.     

Factors influencing occupational therapy students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities: a conjoint analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing occupational therapy students' context-specific attitudes toward persons with disabilities. METHOD: Attitudes of 128 occupational therapy students toward placement of a residential treatment facility in their community were measured by a conjoint measurement of 16 stimulus cards (representing persons with varying disability types, gender, age, employment history, and history of aggression) and their responses were analyzed using conjoint analysis. FINDINGS: Disability type and threat of violence were significantly higher on important scores compared with the other attributes across all students. Additionally, Year-Three students had significantly higher importance scores for the employment attribute than Year-One students. CONCLUSION: Conjoint analysis can be used effectively, as an indirect measure, to study factors contributing to the formation of attitudes-preferences for persons with disabilities in specific social contexts.     

Attitudes toward people with disabilities: a comparison between health care professionals and students

The objective of this study was to explore the attitudes of health care professionals and their students towards people in Hong Kong with disabilities. The attitudes of four groups of professionals and students (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and nurses) were assessed using the well-documented Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale through the methodology of mailed questionnaires. Comparisons were made among different groups of students and professionals in order to gain insight into factors affecting their behavior. In this study, 511 students and 489 professionals were selected randomly. The results indicated that the overall mean Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale score of the respondents was comparatively lower than that of their counterparts in foreign countries. The professionals had a significantly higher attitudinal score than the students. Among the four disciplines, nurses held the least favorable attitudes towards people with disabilities. In addition, their attitudes were less positive than those of the student nurses. On the other hand, the social work students had less favorable attitudes than the professional social workers, as well as other types of health care students. The analysis of the data also revealed that the mean Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale scores for both the occupational therapists and occupational therapy students were above the overall average. Unlike the physiotherapists, the mean Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale score of the physiotherapy students was below the overall average. In addition, age, year of study, educational level, knowledge and contact with people with disabilities were significant factors in the attitudes held by the students and professional respondents. The quality of the contact was found to be a dominant factor in affecting the scores on attitude. Thus, recommendations were made to modify the current training curriculum and enhance the quality of services to develop more favorable attitudes towards people with disabilities.     

Case-based learning in cross-professional groups - the development of a pre-registration interprofessional learning programme

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an interprofessional learning (IPL) programme at the pre-registration level. The principal aim of the study was to investigate whether case-based learning in cross-professional groups is a feasible and an effective way to conduct interprofessional education (IPE). Student volunteers from five different health professional training programmes were allocated to two groups: an intervention group and a control group. Interprofessional attitudes of all students were measured at the beginning and at the end of the study. Group members fed back their views about their learning experience after the 9-week long intervention. The study reports significant effects of the intervention on students' attitudes to different health professions. For example, students in the intervention group tended to view each profession as more 'caring' when compared to the control group. Student feedback was positive, with the main message to integrate the programme in the timetable and to introduce an opportunity for IPE in future years. The initial findings reported in this paper show that this is a feasible and an effective way to deliver IPE across the wide range of professions in the study and that the learning programme was viewed positively by the students who took part.