Investigation on the willingness of undergraduate nursing students in vocational colleges to work in elderly care institutions

Xin  Zhang; Yamin  Wang; Yajuan  Cao; Qilei  Tu; Tongyang  Yu; Chenlin  Zhang

doi:10.54254/3049-7248/2025.22203

Abstract

To understand the current status of the willingness of undergraduate nursing students in vocational colleges to work in elderly care institutions under the integrated medical and elderly care model, and to analyze the influencing factors, providing a reference for the training of suitable talents for this model in China’s vocational nursing education. A cluster sampling method was used to select three classes of first-year nursing students at the vocational college level, and 116 valid questionnaires were collected. The investigation included a general information questionnaire, a questionnaire on the willingness to work in elderly care institutions under the integrated medical and elderly care model, an elderly knowledge questionnaire (FAQ), and an elderly attitude scale (KAOP). Among the 116 first-year nursing students, 60 (51.7%) expressed willingness to work in elderly care institutions under the integrated model, 9 (7.8%) were unwilling, and 47 (40.5%) were uncertain. The average score on the elderly knowledge scale was 13.24±3.12, and the average score on the elderly attitude scale was 132.68±20.56. Factors influencing nursing students’ willingness to work in elderly care institutions included gender, whether they had obtained a 1+X elderly care certificate, whether they understood the integrated medical and elderly care model, whether they had experience interacting with the elderly, FAQ scores, and KAOP scores. The willingness of first-year nursing students in vocational colleges to work in elderly care institutions under the integrated medical and elderly care model is moderate. Schools should actively promote school-enterprise cooperation, strengthen students’ understanding of the industry status of integrated elderly care institutions, and provide active guidance and education to encourage students to engage with elderly care content.

Keywords: vocational college students , nursing , integrated medical and elderly care institutions , willingness to work

Article Information

Received: 10 April 2025

Published: 15 May 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54254/3049-7248/2025.22203

Article Type: Research Article

Cite this article

Zhang,X.;Wang,Y.;Cao,Y.;Tu,Q.;Yu,T.;Zhang,C. (2025). Investigation on the willingness of undergraduate nursing students in vocational colleges to work in elderly care institutions. Journal of Education and Educational Policy Studies,3(2),51-58.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About this Volume

Volume Title: JEEPS Vol.3

Part of Series: Journal of Education and Educational Policy Studies

ISSN: 3049-7248 (Print) / 3049-7256 (Online)

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