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Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course Number

Date

Gerontological Curricula Impact on Registered Nurses Career Choices in the United States:

A Quantitative Comparative Study.

Introduction

This is a study on the shortage of registered nurses working with older adults in the

United States. There is a general lack of inclination to work with the elderly people, especially

by registered nurses in the United States. In this study, we investigate if there is indeed a

shortage, and the possible reason for that shortage. We specifically investigate if there is an

effect of curriculum on their willingness to work with older adults.

Descriptive Statistics

Prior to the analysis, descriptive analysis was done on the parameters of interest. Shown

in the table below is a summary of the demographic data of the respondents, in terms of

frequencies. The major parameters of importance to the research question are content of

gerontological curriculum, and willingness of the nurses to work among older patients.

How old are you (in years)?

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 18-30 years old 92 33.6 59.4 59.4

31-50 years old 59 21.5 38.1 97.4

51 years or older 4 1.5 2.6 100.0

Total 155 56.6 100.0

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Missing System 119 43.4

Total 274 100.0

What is your gender?

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Male 66 24.1 37.1 37.1
Female 109 39.8 61.2 98.3
Prefer not to respond 3 1.1 1.7 100.0
Total 178 65.0 100.0
Missing System 96 35.0
Total 274 100.0

What is your ethnicity or race (please select one)?

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Hispanic of any race 23 8.4 13.0 13.0
American Indian or Alaska 8 2.9 4.5 17.5
Native
Asian 43 15.7 24.3 41.8
Black or African American 38 13.9 21.5 63.3
Native Hawaiian or Other 1 .4 .6 63.8
Pacific Islander
White 50 18.2 28.2 92.1
Two or more races 5 1.8 2.8 94.9
Race and Ethnicity unknown 1 .4 .6 95.5
Other (please specify below) 3 1.1 1.7 97.2
Prefer not to respond 5 1.8 2.8 100.0
Total 177 64.6 100.0
Missing System 97 35.4
Total 274 100.0

Are you currently primarily working with older patients (65 and
older) as a registered nurse?
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Yes 111 40.5 62.7 62.7
No 66 24.1 37.3 100.0
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Total 177 64.6 100.0

Missing System 97 35.4
Total 274 100.0

The most important descriptor variable in our study is Gerontological curriculum of the

respondent. It is summarized as below:

What type of gerontological content was offered at your nursing program?

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Stand-alone gerontology 57 20.8 32.6 32.6
course (one course primarily
about nursing with older
adults)
Threaded gerontology 77 28.1 44.0 76.6
content (nursing care for
older adults as part of many
courses)
Combined content 41 15.0 23.4 100.0
(gerontology both as a
stand-alone course AND had
gerontological content
incorporated in other
courses)
Total 175 63.9 100.0
Missing System 99 36.1
Total 274 100.0

We also generated the normal p-p plot for the curriculum variable, to determine its normality.
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Research Hypothesis

We hypothesize that there is no effect of gerontological curriculum content on

willingness of registered nurses to work among older patients.

Research Method

To test for the effect of curriculum on willingness to serve among older patients,

regression analysis was done on the dataset to determine the nature and strength of the

relationship between the two parameters. Because the parameters are ordinal with multiple

levels, Chi Squared test of independence was performed on the data, using SPSS.

Results

Before testing the association between curriculum and the willingness scale, several other

tests were performed.

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1. Curriculum vs Age of respondent

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 11.365 a
4 .023
Likelihood Ratio 10.927 4 .027
Linear-by-Linear Association 4.996 1 .025
N of Valid Cases 152
a. 3 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is .89.

There was no sufficient information to conclude that there is an association between

curriculum and the age of the respondents.

2. Curriculum vs if respondent is currently working with older patients

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 1.567 a
2 .457
Likelihood Ratio 1.568 2 .457
Linear-by-Linear Association 1.558 1 .212
N of Valid Cases 175
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is 15.23.
There was no sufficient information to conclude that there is an association between

curriculum and the whether the respondent currently works among elderly patients.
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3. Curriculum vs frequency of interacting with older patients

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 23.306 a
6 .001
Likelihood Ratio 21.992 6 .001
Linear-by-Linear Association 14.675 1 .000
N of Valid Cases 175
a. 1 cells (8.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is 3.75.

There is a sufficient association between curriculum and the frequency of interacting

elderly patients. From the graph below, it appears that threaded frequency of interaction.
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4. Curriculum vs if respondents have worked with older patients outside profession

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 3.256 a
2 .196
Likelihood Ratio 3.266 2 .195
Linear-by-Linear Association .136 1 .712
N of Valid Cases 174
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is 20.03.

There was no sufficient information to conclude that there is an association between

curriculum and the whether the respondent have worked with older patients outside

profession

5. Curriculum vs how many years respondent has worked primarily with older patients

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 40.780 a
36 .268
Likelihood Ratio 45.183 36 .140
Linear-by-Linear Association 1.764 1 .184
N of Valid Cases 150
a. 46 cells (80.7%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is .25.

There was no sufficient information to conclude that there is an association between

curriculum and how many years respondent has worked primarily with older patients
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6. Curriculum vs whether respondent has lived with people aged 65 and older

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square .307a
2 .858
Likelihood Ratio .308 2 .857
Linear-by-Linear Association .290 1 .590
N of Valid Cases 175
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is 16.40.

There was no sufficient information to conclude that there is an association between

curriculum and whether respondent has lived with people aged 65 and older

Finally, regression analysis was performed on the dataset, using the willingness scale as

dependent and the curriculum as independent variables. The results are presented below:

Model Summaryb
Adjusted R Std. Error of the
Model R R Square Square Estimate
1 .361
a
.130 .014 .740

b. Dependent Variable: What type of gerontological content was offered

at your nursing program?

ANOVAa
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 12.312 20 .616 1.123 .332b
Residual 82.191 150 .548
Total 94.503 170
a. Dependent Variable: What type of gerontological content was offered at your nursing program?
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Discussion and Conclusion

The tests performed showed that there was no significant effect of the curriculum on the

willingness of the registered nurses to treat elderly patients (65 and over). This could be due to a

wrongly constructed thesis statement, incorrect variable interactions, confounding variables, or

insufficient data. We did see however, that there is an association between the curriculum studied

and the frequency of the nurses in relating with elderly patients. This can be further studied to

understand how this effect affects other factors.