title: Nursing Students' Willingness to Care for Older Adults in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The possibilities that nurses will take care of persons 65 years of age or older in hospitals and communities are increasing due to a growing aged population. Nursing students should be prepared to face the challenges of their future practice. Therefore, factors associated with nursing students' willingness to care for older adults need to be identified.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to explore Taiwanese nursing students' willingness to work with older persons and factors associated with this.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional research design was used. Stratified sampling was applied to recruit participants from seven nursing schools in northern, central, southern, and eastern areas of Taiwan. There were 612 nursing students who successful completed the questionnaire including demographic data, the Attitudes Toward the Elderly Scale, and the Willingness Toward the Elderly Care Scale. Data were collected between November 2012 and January 2013. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of nursing students' willingness to care for older adults.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean score of nursing students' attitudes toward older people was 73.86 (SD = 8.9), with a range of 44-106. The mean score on the willingness to care for older adults was 55.01 (SD = 6.4), with a range of 36-75. The length of time with older adults per week (r = 0.12, p = .003) and grandparents having served as caregivers during the students' childhood (t = -2.147, β = .032) were both positively associated with the willingness to care for older adults. The best predictors of nursing students' willingness to care for older adults were students' attitudes toward older adults (β = 0.38, p < .001), paying attention to issues related to older adults (β = 0.24, p < .001), and having the experience of being a volunteer who served older people (β = 0.10, p = .005), which explained 26.8% of the total variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taiwanese undergraduate nursing students had neutral to slightly favorable attitudes toward working with older adults. Nursing students' positive attitudes about older adults, paying attention to issues related to older adults, and having been a volunteer that served older people were predictors of their willingness to care for older persons. Appropriate and practical strategies should be developed for students in order to increase their preference for caring for older people.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study can provide information for faculty members and clinical preceptors for designing curricula and related activities or arranging practicum in the future.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, School of Gerontology Health Management, and Master Program in Long-term Care, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mei-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Shyu
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Hung-Kuang University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shou-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Master's student, Department of Counseling and Applied Psychology, College of Humanities, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Pi, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yeu-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D012579:Schools, Nursing; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aged care; nursing students; older adults; willingness