title: Dental hygiene students' perceptions of older adults.
abstract: Geriatric education is an important component of the dental hygiene curriculum because, in it, students acquire skills and attitudes to help provide quality care to older adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if off-site exposure to nursing home residents with supervised oversight had the potential to improve dental hygiene students' attitudes toward older adults. Senior dental hygiene students at one school completed a pre-nursing home experience questionnaire. A series of geriatric lectures and discussions, which included discussions about students' anxieties of working with institutionalized older adults, were held prior to the nursing home experience. The students then participated in two supervised four-hour nursing home experiences, were debriefed after the experiences, and completed a second questionnaire. Of thirty-nine potential participants in the study, thirty-two took part in the pre-nursing home experience questionnaire (82.1 percent). They had a mean split Fabroni score of 34.2 (95 percent confidence interval: 32.2, 36.3). The thirty participants in the post-experience questionnaire (76.9 percent of total) had a mean split score of 32.7 (95 percent confidence interval: 30.1, 35.3). This study failed to reject the null hypothesis of no mean difference between the pre- and post-nursing home experience; however, the post-experience mean score was lower than the pre-nursing home experience mean score, indicating a more positive attitude toward older adults after the experience.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Wiener is Assistant Professor, Dental Practice and Rural Health, School of Dentistry and Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, West Virginia University; Dr. Shockey is Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics, Division of Dental Hygiene, School of Dentistry, West Virginia University; and Dr. Long is Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University. rwiener2@hsc.wvu.edu.
authors.forename: R Constance
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wiener
authors.affiliation: Dr. Wiener is Assistant Professor, Dental Practice and Rural Health, School of Dentistry and Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, West Virginia University; Dr. Shockey is Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics, Division of Dental Hygiene, School of Dentistry, West Virginia University; and Dr. Long is Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University.
authors.forename: Alcinda Trickett
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Shockey
authors.affiliation: Dr. Wiener is Assistant Professor, Dental Practice and Rural Health, School of Dentistry and Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, West Virginia University; Dr. Shockey is Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics, Division of Dental Hygiene, School of Dentistry, West Virginia University; and Dr. Long is Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University.
authors.forename: D Leann
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D063506:Ageism / Q000523:psychology*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016321:Dental Care for Aged; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012929:Psychological Distance; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: access to health care; dental hygiene; dental hygiene education; dental hygiene students; geriatric dentistry; geriatrics; nursing home residents; older adults