The orientation of health professional students towards the care of older adults: the case of podiatry

Abstract

Although podiatrists treat a large number of older adults, few studies have examined podiatry students' attitudes to treating them. Using data from a nationally representative random sample of podiatry students (n = 528), a theoretical model was tested that examined the impact on the level of expected satisfaction from treating older adults in terms of: students' perceptions of the effectiveness of podiatry for treating older adults (i.e. the belief that the students can have a meaningful impact on the health outcomes); the extent to which students enter podiatry for intrinsic rewards; the amount of exposure to instruction on geriatric health issues students receive in podiatry school; and the amount of clinical contact students have with older adult patients. Consistent with the hypothesized model, the findings indicated that respondents who believe that podiatrists can have a meaningful impact on the health outcomes of older adults reported a higher level of expected satisfaction with treating them. In addition, intrinsic motivation exhibited a positive indirect effect on satisfaction via its direct effect on perceptions of the effectiveness of treating older adults.