Geriatric competency and attitudes toward older adults among Turkish undergraduate social work students

The need for social workers educated about aging and eager to work

with older adults will increase significantly as the older adult population rises rapidly. It is essential to determine the attitudes and competencies of social workers prepared to work in this field. This study

aimed to evaluate Turkish undergraduate social work students’ attitudes toward older adults and their geriatric social work competency.

A cross-sectional descriptive correlational research design was used in

the study. The study included 308 fourth-year undergraduate students

attending a social work program. Participants were selected by convenience sampling. The results indicated that students had slightly

positive attitudes toward older people. As for the geriatric competency, the students rated highest in applying “values, ethics, and

theoretical perspectives” and lowest in the “aging services, programs,

and policies.” Geriatric social work competence was strongly associated with positive attitudes toward older adults. These findings

indicate the need to implement new learning opportunities early in

academic programs to improve social work students’ attitudes toward

older adults and increase their knowledge and skills to address the

aging population’s needs.