Preparing nurses and nursing students to care for older adults in lower and middle-income countries: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: The aim of this review was to examine the extent and nature of published literature on nurses' and nursing students' preparedness to care for older adults in lower and middle-income countries.

Method: A scoping review with 27 articles, guided by the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) framework was conducted. The following electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC and SCOPUS. Grey literature using Google Scholar and ProQuest were also searched. Key search terms and subject headings such as "nursing students", "nurses", "stakeholders", "ministry of health", "readiness", "knowledge", "attitudes", "elder care", "seniors care" and "older adults" were used to identify relevant articles. Studies that reported on gerontological nursing, nursing students' and nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards older adults, and stakeholders/employers' views about nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards older adults were included.

Results: Nurses reported having moderate to insufficient knowledge in the care of older adults in the majority of the studies. Nursing students reported insufficient knowledge in the care of older adults. However, both nurses and nursing students reported positive attitudes towards the care of older adults but held misconceptions about caring for older adults. Nursing students also reported a low preference for working with older adults.

Discussion and implications: The inadequate preparation of nurses and nursing students in the care of older adults means there are opportunities to enhance knowledge about health and nursing care in lower and middle-income countries and build on the positive attitudes towards older adults.

Keywords: Attitudes; Gerontological nursing; Gerontology; Knowledge; Lower and middle-income countries; Nurses; Older adults.