The Effect of Education Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior on Willingness to Work with Older Adults in Students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Studies show older people require increasing health care services. One of the most important factors that significantly affect the quality of elderly care is the willingness to work with old people. The current study is conducted aiming to examine the effect of education based on the theory of planned behavior on willingness to work with older adults in public health students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in 2018.

This study was an educational intervention in which the subjects included 36 students selected through the census method. The data gathering tool was the Willingness to Work with Elderly People Scale (WEPS), which was completed by the students two times (before and two weeks after education). After pre-test, two educational sessions were held for the students. The data collected were analyzed using independent t-test, paired t-test, and regression in SPSS software.

36 students with a mean age of 21.94 ± 3.43 years participated in the study. The mean scores of attitude
(P < 0.001), subjective norms (P < 0.001), perceived behavior control (P < 0.005), and intention (P < 0.001) in the intervention group had significant differences after the educational intervention.

The results showed that education based on the theory of planned behavior was able to promote willingness to work with older adults among students. Therefore, it suggested to develop educational interventions to enhance attitudes towards caring for the elderly and promote intentions to work with them. So it is recommended this intervention be applied to students and staff of medical universities after further studies.