Intergroup Contact Intervention for Nursing Undergraduates to Improve Aging Stereotype

NCT06615219 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2022025.
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 126
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aimed to investigate the effects of intergroup contact training on the levels of aging stereotypes, intergroup anxiety, and willingness to engage in geriatric nursing work among undergraduate nursing students.

Conditions

Aging; Ageism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• The implicit effect value (D)

  The implicit effect value were measured by the Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC- IAT), a time-limited word categorization task, using the E-Prime procedure. The SC-IAT program consists of four blocks: Blocks I and III are practice blocks, while Blocks II and IV are formal tests. The data analyzed were derived from Blocks II and IV. Blocks I and II feature incompatible tasks with positive words for the elderly on the left and negative words on the right. Blocks III and IV are compatible tasks, with positive words on the right and elderly concept words and negative words on the left. The implicit effect value (D) was calculated by subtracting the mean reaction time of the compatible task from that of the incompatible task, then dividing by the standard deviation of correct reaction times. A D value of 0 indicates a neutral implicit aging stereotype, while a value less than 0 suggests a negtive stereotype.

  Baseline and Month 3

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Geriatric Nursing Willingness Scale

  Baseline and Month 3

• Intergroup Anxiety Scale (IAS)

  Baseline and Month 3

Study Arms (2)

Intergroup contact training + Regular course training

EXPERIMENTAL

In addition to the regular curriculum, the experimental group of nursing students were required to receive the intervention program developed by this study.

Other: Intergroup contact training

Regular course training only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Nursing undergraduates in the control group received regular course teaching and practical activities, including geriatric nursing, daily courses and community activities.

Other: Regular course training only

Interventions

Intergroup contact training OTHER

The intervention program uses direct contact and four types of indirect contact as the intervention strategy and general framework, and is divided into three main steps, assessing and reflecting on aging stereotypes, carrying out indirect and direct contact, and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. The time period is 12 weeks, with the interventionists comprising the researcher and nursing students. The forms of the intervention include holding mini-lectures, organizing participation in voluntary activities, and nostalgia interviews.

Intergroup contact training + Regular course training

Regular course training only OTHER

The specific process is to sign in the classroom, review the knowledge of the previous class by asking questions, introduce the content of the new class, the teacher explains the knowledge points according to the teaching objectives and teaching content, and finally assigns the post-class homework of the course content. At the end of the experiment, the control group was given compensatory intervention.

Regular course training only

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the nursing program
• not yet enrolled in a geriatric nursing course
• agreed to participate in this study and signed an informed consent form

You may not qualify if:

• students in the nursing program pursuing a bachelor degree through a vocational-to-degree pathway
• Students who have taken a break from their studies

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Huzhou University: lead

Study Sites (1)

School of Nursing, Hangzhou Normal University

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 313000, China

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Cao M, Li F, Yao Q, Zhou N, Xiang T, Wu H. Effects of inter-group contact training on aging-related stereotypes among undergraduate nursing students: a randomized controlled trial. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2025 Aug 25:1-16. doi: 10.1080/02701960.2025.2551960. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 40853547 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Ageism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Prejudice; Social Behavior; Behavior; Social Discrimination

Study Officials

• Meijuan Cao

  Huzhou University

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 27, 2024
• First Posted: September 26, 2024
• Study Start: May 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2022
• Study Completion: July 31, 2022
• Last Updated: October 15, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-10

Locations

CN (1)