Increasing knowledge about the older population: the role of geriatric curriculum in optometry

Education in the area of geriatrics/gerontology alleviates misconceptions about the elderly and lessens ageism. Ageism, negative feelings toward the elderly, represents a substantial obstacle to the delivery of quality health care to older adults. As future primary health care professionals, optometry students will encounter a large segment of the older population. This study looks at the effect that a didactic course and a clinical rotation in geriatrics have on the knowledge and attitude of optometry students toward older adults. Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz: Part 1 was administered to two classes of optometry students. One class experienced a geriatric course and clinic concurrently; the other class experienced the geriatric clinic before the course. Scores increased significantly post-test for both classes. Exposure to geriatric patients before didactic instruction did not improve pretest scores; however, the number of patient exposures was significant at post-test. Antiage bias scores also improved with intervention of a didactic course and clinical rotation in geriatrics. The results of this study indicate that ageism in optometrists may be ameliorated by providing formal instruction in geriatrics in the optometric curriculum.