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Fitzpatrick D1, Bibi K2, Greenwood K1
1Northeastern University, Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston, United States, 2Northeastern University, College of Professional Studies, Boston, United States
Background: Worldwide people over the age of 60 will double in proportion from 2000 to 2050 (11% to 22%) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 38% will have a disability. In the United States (US) where the number of persons over age 65 is expected to reach 88.5 million, aging adults comprise the majority receiving physical therapy services across all hospital and nursing based settings and this is expected to continue to grow exponentially. In response to demand, the APTA Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy, in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine, developed the Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults. This document is designed to assist physical therapist education programs in the recommended standards of competency necessary for the complex care of older adults.
Purpose: To examine the impact a Lifespan Geriatrics course had on students' self perception of confidence over five academic years using the Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults to enhance curriculum.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study employed a longitudinal design. A convenience sample of 635 DPT students completed surveys pre and post the Lifespan/Geriatrics course. This study was repeated over five academic years and completed surveys were collected anonymously. Survey questions were adapted from the Essential Competencies tool and placed on a three point likert scale and students reported their self-perceived confidence with each item.
Results: Data was analyzed using chi-squared tests within SPSS, with an established p-value 0.05. Data for each of the five years examined percentage of change from pre-survey results to post-survey results within each year, and between the five years of data. Descriptive statistics characterized the data.
Students demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in perceived competence (p 0.05) across all topics of the survey pre-post coursework.
Greatest increased changes were in: identifying signs and symptoms of delirium (67.8%), identifying risks and barriers to older adult safety (67.1%), and different communication styles to overcome physical and cognitive barriers(66.1%). Initially, the least amount of confidence was seen in topics such as providing patients with information regarding long-term services and support (33.4%)and practicing and teaching patients safe and effective medication use (32.2%). Education modules were implemented in these areas of least confidence with improvement noted and the levels of confidence increased 17.7-26.1%.
Conclusion(s): Use of the Measurement of the Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults was a successful method to capture change in student's self perception of confidence and inform curricular enhancements and demonstrates students increase their confidence through participating in a lifespan geriatric course.
Implications: Results can be used to inform ongoing curricular enhancements for physical therapist programs and be valuable to physical therapist educators as a means to assess outcomes relative to the Geriatric competencies. Providing insight on areas of strength and other areas in need of development is critical to ensure students will attain the appropriate level of knowledge and preparation. This process represents a potential method to guide best practice for the preparation of physical therapists for competent compassionate care of the global aging population.
Keywords: Physical Therapy Education, competencies, aging adults
Funding acknowledgements: None
Purpose: To examine the impact a Lifespan Geriatrics course had on students' self perception of confidence over five academic years using the Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults to enhance curriculum.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study employed a longitudinal design. A convenience sample of 635 DPT students completed surveys pre and post the Lifespan/Geriatrics course. This study was repeated over five academic years and completed surveys were collected anonymously. Survey questions were adapted from the Essential Competencies tool and placed on a three point likert scale and students reported their self-perceived confidence with each item.
Results: Data was analyzed using chi-squared tests within SPSS, with an established p-value 0.05. Data for each of the five years examined percentage of change from pre-survey results to post-survey results within each year, and between the five years of data. Descriptive statistics characterized the data.
Students demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in perceived competence (p 0.05) across all topics of the survey pre-post coursework.
Greatest increased changes were in: identifying signs and symptoms of delirium (67.8%), identifying risks and barriers to older adult safety (67.1%), and different communication styles to overcome physical and cognitive barriers(66.1%). Initially, the least amount of confidence was seen in topics such as providing patients with information regarding long-term services and support (33.4%)and practicing and teaching patients safe and effective medication use (32.2%). Education modules were implemented in these areas of least confidence with improvement noted and the levels of confidence increased 17.7-26.1%.
Conclusion(s): Use of the Measurement of the Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults was a successful method to capture change in student's self perception of confidence and inform curricular enhancements and demonstrates students increase their confidence through participating in a lifespan geriatric course.
Implications: Results can be used to inform ongoing curricular enhancements for physical therapist programs and be valuable to physical therapist educators as a means to assess outcomes relative to the Geriatric competencies. Providing insight on areas of strength and other areas in need of development is critical to ensure students will attain the appropriate level of knowledge and preparation. This process represents a potential method to guide best practice for the preparation of physical therapists for competent compassionate care of the global aging population.
Keywords: Physical Therapy Education, competencies, aging adults
Funding acknowledgements: None
Topic: Older people; Education
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Northeastern University
Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board ( IRB)
Reason not required: IRB reviewed the project and determined since the focus is to improve education of the students, no approval required.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
