Abstract
The older adult population is rapidly growing expecting to reach nearly 95 million by 2060. Consequently, there is a growing need for young adults preparing to enter the workforce to have accurate perceptions of the aging process. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ verbatim descriptors of someone over 65 years of age and how they change after completing an undergraduate health and aging course. 132 junior-level Health Behavior Science undergraduate students completed a pre-course and post-course questionnaire that assessed aging knowledge and perceptions. A thematic analysis was conducted to examine students’ descriptors of individuals 65+ pre- and post-course. An evaluation of the qualitative responses indicated that the undergraduate students’ perceptions of older adults and aging changed from their pre-course to post course responses. Positive personality trait descriptors increased from 160 (11.5%) initially to 268 (31.8%) following course completion. Conversely, negative traits of being sedentary/inactive (pre (4.6%) to post (0.5%)), being slow (pre (4.8%) to post (2.5%)), having health problems (pre (9.7%) to post (4.5%)), and being fragile (pre (7.5%) to post (5.3%)) all decreased. Independent samples paired t test showed a significant increase (p 0.0001) in aging knowledge scores from pre to post course. In year one, the scores increased from 64.45 (+12.63) to 78.66 (+12.67) and in year two the scores increased from 69.41 (+13.12) to 80.75 (+11.07). Overall, this study demonstrated that an undergraduate health and aging course with a service-learning component greatly impacted undergraduate students’ perceptions of older adults and the aging process to be more positive.
Highlights
The older adult population is rapidly growing and is expected to reach nearly 95 million by 2060 (Vespa, Armstrong, & Medina, 2018)
This study demonstrated that an undergraduate health and aging course with a service-learning component greatly impacted undergraduate students’ perceptions of older adults and the aging process to be more positive
Research has shown that the undergraduate student population seems to have a higher prevalence of stereotypical views of the older adult population when compared to other age groups (Cohen, Sandel, Thomas, & Barton, 2004)
Summary
The older adult population is rapidly growing and is expected to reach nearly 95 million by 2060 (Vespa, Armstrong, & Medina, 2018). Research suggests that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and train students for careers in gerontology due to common negative perceptions of older adults among the undergraduate student population (Gellis et al, 2003). Research has shown that the undergraduate student population seems to have a higher prevalence of stereotypical views of the older adult population when compared to other age groups (Cohen, Sandel, Thomas, & Barton, 2004). It is common for students to stereotype older adults as being lonely, depressed, and isolated, and having dementia (Cohen, Sandel, Thomas, & Barton, 2004). Aging is often associated with death and dying which makes many individuals anxious and uncomfortable, and avoidant of older adults (Feenstra, 2012; Henderson, Xiao, Siegloff, Kelton, & Paterson, 2008)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
