The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing

Background: With the rapid increase in the aging population, a greater number of older individuals will require nursing care in the future. Therefore, it is important for nurses to be willing to engage in gerontological nursing. Nursing students must increase their experience in providing care to ol...

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Main Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, Ya-Fang Ho, Jeu-Jung Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Healthcare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/652
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author Pei-Ti Hsu
Ya-Fang Ho
Jeu-Jung Chen
author_facet Pei-Ti Hsu
Ya-Fang Ho
Jeu-Jung Chen
author_sort Pei-Ti Hsu
collection DOAJ
description Background: With the rapid increase in the aging population, a greater number of older individuals will require nursing care in the future. Therefore, it is important for nurses to be willing to engage in gerontological nursing. Nursing students must increase their experience in providing care to older people during their education and must receive education that improves their attitudes toward aging; this will help provide care to the older people, develop positive attitudes toward aging, and increase their empathy and willingness to provide care to older people after graduation. Hence, studies focused on improving the attitude of nursing students toward aging are urgently required. Methods: In this mixed-method experimental study, participants were interviewed individually and observed to better understand the connection between quantitative and qualitative data. Service learning and learning portfolio constructions were integrated in the gerontological nursing curriculum of an experimental group, whereas traditional gerontological nursing curriculum was provided to a control group. Quantitative data on the nursing students were collected using the attitudes toward aging scale (ATAS) and older people behavioral intention scale (OBIS) and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: From the pre- to the post-test, the average ATAS and OBIS scores of the experimental group increased significantly, reaching a statistically significant level. However, the results of the control group indicated that the educational intervention does affect the attitudes toward aging and older people behaviors. A qualitative analysis revealed that educational intervention can improve the students’ attitudes toward aging and older people behavioral intention. Conclusion: Our study results showed that integrating community older people service and learning portfolio construction into the curriculum can effectively improve the attitudes of nursing students toward aging and older people’s behaviors, thus providing substantial assistance to students intending to care for the older people in the future.
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spelling doaj.art-3fd201d846c24a47921d175c92db65682023-12-01T20:58:50ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-03-0110465210.3390/healthcare10040652The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological NursingPei-Ti Hsu0Ya-Fang Ho1Jeu-Jung Chen2Department of Nursing, Ching Kuo Institute of Management and Health, Keelung 20301, TaiwanSchool of Nursing, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, TaiwanDepartment of Rehabilitation, Taiwan Adventist Hospital, Taipei 10556, TaiwanBackground: With the rapid increase in the aging population, a greater number of older individuals will require nursing care in the future. Therefore, it is important for nurses to be willing to engage in gerontological nursing. Nursing students must increase their experience in providing care to older people during their education and must receive education that improves their attitudes toward aging; this will help provide care to the older people, develop positive attitudes toward aging, and increase their empathy and willingness to provide care to older people after graduation. Hence, studies focused on improving the attitude of nursing students toward aging are urgently required. Methods: In this mixed-method experimental study, participants were interviewed individually and observed to better understand the connection between quantitative and qualitative data. Service learning and learning portfolio constructions were integrated in the gerontological nursing curriculum of an experimental group, whereas traditional gerontological nursing curriculum was provided to a control group. Quantitative data on the nursing students were collected using the attitudes toward aging scale (ATAS) and older people behavioral intention scale (OBIS) and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: From the pre- to the post-test, the average ATAS and OBIS scores of the experimental group increased significantly, reaching a statistically significant level. However, the results of the control group indicated that the educational intervention does affect the attitudes toward aging and older people behaviors. A qualitative analysis revealed that educational intervention can improve the students’ attitudes toward aging and older people behavioral intention. Conclusion: Our study results showed that integrating community older people service and learning portfolio construction into the curriculum can effectively improve the attitudes of nursing students toward aging and older people’s behaviors, thus providing substantial assistance to students intending to care for the older people in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/652service-learninglearning portfoliocurriculum of gerontological nursingattitudes toward agingolder people behavioral intention
spellingShingle Pei-Ti Hsu
Ya-Fang Ho
Jeu-Jung Chen
The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
Healthcare
service-learning
learning portfolio
curriculum of gerontological nursing
attitudes toward aging
older people behavioral intention
title The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
title_full The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
title_fullStr The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
title_short The Effect of Integrating Service-Learning and Learning Portfolio Construction into the Curriculum of Gerontological Nursing
title_sort effect of integrating service learning and learning portfolio construction into the curriculum of gerontological nursing
topic service-learning
learning portfolio
curriculum of gerontological nursing
attitudes toward aging
older people behavioral intention
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/652
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