Why health care students say "no" to geriatric care: insights from the theory of planned behavior.

Abstract

The aging population is increasing rapidly in the United States, yet there is a shortage of health care workers to provide services and support for older adults, along with health profession students expressing limited interest in this field. Understanding the factors influencing health profession students' intention to work with older adults is crucial for addressing this workforce shortage. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study surveyed 244 health profession students at a mid-sized public comprehensive university in the Southeast. Structural equation modeling showed a good fit with χ² = 625.981, df = 340, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.918, RMSEA = 0.059, SRMR = 0.064, and TLI = 0.908. The results indicated that attitudes and subjective norms play critical roles in shaping health profession students' intention toward geriatric care. The findings highlighted that educational interventions should focus on improving attitudes toward older adults while leveraging social influence to enhance the desirability of geriatric careers. Future research should explore longitudinal changes in health profession students' attitudes and continue to develop and evaluate targeted interventions on students' career intentions.