Medical students’ attitudes towards older persons – a systematic review and meta-analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21650343 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ali Vahedi (0000-0002-7642-4630, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatric Medicine, Central Hospital Karlstad, corresponding author), Åsa G Andersson (0000-0001-7868-4244, Örebro University), Brynjar Fure (0000-0001-6888-7101, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatric Medicine, Central Hospital Karlstad) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 2661455-2661455 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medical Education Online (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1087-2981 • E-ISSN: 1087-2981 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10872981.2026.2661455 |
| PMID | 42012144 |
| OpenAlex | W7155038279 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 43 |
Objective Ageism negatively affects older people’s health, well-being, and quality of care. Identifying ageism and attitudes toward older adults may help identify medical students motivated to work with a growing older population. We conducted a systematic review of interventions to reduce ageism among medical students.Methods We conducted a systematic literature retrieval in Medline, the Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos and PubMed via Ovid, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, from database inception to August 23rd, 2024. We searched for studies examining medical students’ attitudes towards older persons, including interventions to influence these attitudes.Results The systematic review included 21 studies. Study samples ranged between 29 and 415, with a pooled total of 3940 medical students, the majority conducted in the USA. The meta-analysis of students’ attitudes before and after all interventions included a total of 2004 students, yielding a non-significant standardized mean difference (SMD) of 0, 12 (95% CI −0, 01 to 0, 26). The meta-analysis of students’ attitudes before and after all interventions (35–37, 39, 41, 45, 48, 50), after removing UCLA-GAS and R-GAS, included a total of 1344 students with a standardized mean difference of 0, 23 (95% CI 0, 06 to 0, 40). Analysis of empathy-based teaching interventions included 1652 students, and showed a statistically significant effect, SMD 0, 18 (95% CI 0, 01 to 0, 34). Analysis of 352 students receiving traditional teaching methods yielded no effect on ageism, with an SMD −0, 13 (95% CI −0, 81 to 0, 54). High heterogeneity (I2 75—85%) affects our confidence in the effect estimates.Conclusion Empathy-based interventions seem to improve medical students’ attitudes towards older persons. Traditional teaching methods may increase negative attitudes. Considering the high heterogeneity, the results should be interpreted cautiously. Adding empathy-based components to medical curricula could combat ageism. More studies are needed to examine whether the results of studies from North America are valid globally
Curriculum · MEDLINE · Older people · Psychological intervention · Aging and Gerontology Research · Empathy and Medical Education · Identity, Memory, and Therapy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |