Nursing students' willingness to work in geriatric care: An integrative review

Abstract

Aims: This integrative review aims to explore the willingness of nursing students to work in geriatric care over the past 10 years and to explore the factors influencing nursing students to work in geriatric care. Design: An integrative review. Methods: Studies investigating nursing students’ willingness in gerontological nursing work and related influencing factors published in English in Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL between 2010–2020 were included. Data collected in April 2020. Results: Twenty-four studies were analysed. Most studies presented a contradictory or negative attitude about the willingness of nursing students to engage in gerontological nursing work. In most studies that rank the intention to work in nursing fields, gerontological care received the lowest or a relatively low ranking. The main factors affecting work related to gerontological nursing include prior experience caring for older adults, attitudes towards geriatrics, anxiety about ageing, clinical practice environment and living experience with older family members.