Examining final-year healthcare students’ willingness to work with older adults: a mediator-moderator analysis of knowledge, ageism, and grandparental relationships

Background: The current growth in the aging population highlights the need for healthcare professionals who are willing to work with older adults. Previous studies suggest that knowledge about older adults, ageism, and personal relationships with older adults may influence career preferences in geriatric care. Aims: To examine the direct relationship between healthcare students’ knowledge of older adults and their willingness to work with this population, as well as to explore the indirect effect of ageism as a mediator and the moderating effect of a connection with grandparents. Design: A cross-sectional study using a closed self-reported questionnaire. Setting: The largest academic Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in Israel. Participants: Out of 350 final-year students, 241 (68.9% response rate) agreed to participate in the study, including students from nursing (47.3%), medicine (36.9%), and physiotherapy (15.8%). Methods: The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics, willingness to work with older adults, knowledge, ageism, and relationships with grandparents. Mediator-moderator analyses were conducted to explore the roles of ageism as the mediator and the connection with grandparents as the moderator. The bootstrapping method (PROCESS model 5) was employed to assess indirect effects. Results: Positive correlations were found between willingness to work with older adults and both knowledge about older adults (r = 0.15, p < 0.05) and connection with grandparents (r = 0.16, p < 0.05), while ageism negatively correlated with both willingness to work with older adults (r = -0.18, p < 0.05) and knowledge about older adults (r = -0.19, p < 0.05). The mediation analysis revealed that knowledge about older adults significantly increases willingness to work with them, both directly and indirectly through reduced ageism. Moderation analysis revealed that the relationship between knowledge and willingness to work with older adults was significant only for those with a poor connection with grandparents. Conclusion: This research underscores the crucial role of knowledge, ageism, and connection with older people in shaping healthcare students’ willingness to work with older adults. Interventions addressing social connections can foster interest and engagement in the care of the older adults, particularly among students with limited grandparental relationships.