Table 2.
Variables related to attitudes toward older patients reported by included studies
| Variable | Significant positive relationship with attitudes | Significant negative relationship with attitudes | No significant relationship with attitudes reported | Total studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Gender: female | [13a-Hb]; [14-H]; [15-L]; [18-M]; [21-M]; [27-M]; [31-L]; [34-H]; [37-L]; [43-H] | [8-L]; [9-M]; [10-H]; [11-M]; [12-M]; [16-L]; [17-M]; [18-M]; [19-M]; [22-M]; [24-M]; [32-L]; [35-L]; [39-L]; [41-M]; [42-M]; [43-H]; [44-M] | 28 | |
| Increasing age | [10-H]; [15-L]; [27-M]; [34-H] | [17-M]; [19-M] | [8-L]; [9-M]; [12-M]; [22-M]; [23-L]; [24-M]; [29-L]; [31-L]; [32-L]; [35-L]; [39-L]; [41-M]; [42-M]; [43-H] | 20 |
| Marital status | [29-L]; [34-H] | 2 | ||
| Ethnicity: White | [13-H] | [9-M]; [11-M]; [12-M]; [14-H]; [15-L]; [18-M]; [24-M]; [35-L]; [37-L]; [41-M] | 11 | |
| Ethnicity: Asian-American | [26-M]; [34-H] | 2 | ||
| Nationality/country of birth | [27-M]; [29-L] | 2 | ||
| Socioeconomic background | [11-M]; [13-H] | 2 | ||
| Having doctor parent | [11-M] | 1 | ||
| Languages spoken | [27-M] | 1 | ||
| Education and training | ||||
| Years in medical school | [25-M] | [15-L] | [11-M]; [13-H]; [16-L]; [22-M]; [23-L]; [37-L]; [44-M] | 9 |
| Med school attended | [9-M] | [29-L] | 2 | |
| Increasing years of practice/seniority | [27-M]; [30-L]; [35-L] | [19-M]; [25-M] | [8-L]; [20-M]; [29-L]; [36-L]; [38-L]; [43-H] | 11 |
| Prior geriatrics course | [36-L] | [8-L]; [10-H]; [14-H]; [17-M]; [19-M]; [34-H]; [42-M] | 8 | |
| Prior science-related course | [15-L]; | 1 | ||
| Faculty attitude scores | [36-L] | 1 | ||
| Completed geriatrics rotation | [38-L] | 1 | ||
| Exposure to older people | ||||
| Knowledge of older people | [16-L]; [23-L]; [28-M]; [31-L]; [33-M]; [34-H]; [39-L]; [43-H] | [8-L]; [17-M]; [18-M] | 11 | |
| Contact with older people | [26-M]; [27-M]; [32-L]; [41-M]; [42-M] | [10-H]; [17-M]; [31-L]; [33-M]; [36-L] | 10 | |
| Older people care experience | [41-M]; [42-M] | [10-H]; [12-M]; [17-M]; [18-M]; [24-M]; [34-H] | 8 | |
| Age of parents | [34-H]; [36-L] | 2 | ||
| Personality and cognitive | ||||
| Cognitive ability | [9-M] | 1 | ||
| Orientation to authority | [9-M] | 1 | ||
| Level of intrinsic motivation | [9-M]; [13-H]; [14-H]; [37-L] | [31-L] | 5 | |
| Level of extrinsic motivation | [9-M]; [13-H]; | 2 | ||
| Dominance personality trait | [40-L] | 1 | ||
| Social competence | [15-L]; [42-M] | 2 | ||
| Job and career | ||||
| Interest in working with older people/geriatrics | [12-M]; [18-M]; [24-M]; [26-M]; [27-M]; [28-M]; [35-L]; [37-L]; [41-M]; [42-M] | [33-M] | 11 | |
| Clinical contact with older patients | [14-H]; [26-M] | [19-M] | 3 | |
| Interest in family medicine | [22-M]; [28-M] | [9-M]; [13-H]; [14-H]; [17-M]; [19-M]; [35-L]; [42-M] | 9 | |
| City versus rural location preference | [9-M] | 1 | ||
| Private vs public sector preference | [31-L] | 1 | ||
| Preference for older patients | [42-M] | [18-M] | 2 | |
aStudies are identified by their citation number in the reference list. The full reference list is included in Supplementary Data (Appendix D). bH/M/L denotes High/Medium/Low quality ratings as indicated in Table 1. More detailed information about the main features related to quality is included in Supplementary Data (Appendix C).