Gerontology nursing education in Brazilian public universities (2018-2024)

To describe the outlook for undergraduate nursing students' education in relation to gerontology teaching from 2018 to 2024. This is a retrospective, descriptive study that analysed records available on public data from the Ministry of Education, covering on-site and active undergraduate nursing courses provided by public higher education institutions in Brazil. Undergraduate courses with online access to their Political-Pedagogical Project were included. Projects that only mentioned specific classes on personal care were excluded. A total of 154 classroom-based undergraduate nursing courses were identified in the five Brazilian regions. The comparative overview showed differences in the provision of compulsory and optional classes in the field of aging. The South, North, and Central-West regions showed an increase in compulsory classes, while there was a decrease in the Southeast region. A variation in the course load was observed, with the highest means found in the Northeast and South regions. Nursing education in gerontology in Brazil made progress between 2018 and 2024, with an increase in the number of classes provided in some regions. However, significant gaps remain in geographical distribution, course load, and content updates, compromising comprehensive training in older people's care.