A Cross-Country Exploration: Dietetic Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions to Provide Services to the Elderly

Abstract

This study identified dietetic students' knowledge of aging, attitudes, and intentions to provide services to the elderly and compared the cross-cultural differences between the United States and South Korea. The results show that knowledge about aging and the elderly, coursework experiences, and internship experiences are much greater among American college students than among Korean college students. Stepwise regression results found positive attitudes toward working for the elderly, as well as internship experiences, influenced behavioral intentions among both Korean and U.S. students. Effective education programs should integrate sufficient knowledge, positively reflect student attitudes toward aging populations, and control the quality of contact with the elderly.

Notes

^a Scale: 5-point scale from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree. (r) means reverse-scored statements.

Notes. ^a A cumulative score was determined with the maximum score being 20 points.

^b Scale: 7-point scale on 1-strongly negative, 4-neither, 7-strongly positive.

^c To conduct t-test, factor mean scores of attitudes toward the elderly, attitudes toward working with elderly employees, attitudes toward working for the elderly, and behavioral intentions were used.

∗p < .05, ∗∗∗p < .001.

Note. For the regression analysis, factor mean scores of attitudes toward the elderly, attitudes toward working with elderly employees, attitudes toward working for the elderly, and behavioral intentions were used.

^a Unstandardized coefficients.

^b Standard error of unstandardized coefficients.

^c Standardized coefficients.

∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01, ∗∗∗p < .001.