Beyond exposure: Geriatric knowledge, contact appraisal, and ageism as correlates of willingness to work with older adults

Population aging increases the need for health professionals who are willing and prepared to work with older adults. This cross-sectional study examined correlates of willingness among 270 final-year students and practicing graduates from six health-related disciplines in Türkiye. The primary hierarchical regression included age, gender, educational/professional status, prior geriatric/gerontological experience, contact frequency, positive contact appraisal, contact burden, perceived theoretical preparation, perceived professional competence, geriatric knowledge, personal aging anxiety, collective affinity toward older adults, relational aging anxiety, benevolent/protective ageism, and hostile ageism; attitudes toward geriatrics were examined secondarily in sensitivity analysis. HC3 robust standard errors were used because heteroscedasticity was detected. The final model explained 38.9% of the variance in willingness. Greater willingness was independently associated with male gender, more positive contact appraisal, lower contact burden, stronger perceived theoretical preparation, greater geriatric knowledge, and higher benevolent/protective ageism. Age, educational/professional status, prior geriatric/gerontological experience, contact frequency, perceived professional competence, personal aging anxiety, collective affinity toward older adults, relational aging anxiety, and hostile ageism were not independently associated with willingness. Attitudes toward geriatrics were also not independently associated with willingness when added in sensitivity analysis. These findings suggest that willingness is related more to knowledge, perceived preparation, and how contact is experienced than to exposure alone, while the positive association with benevolent/protective ageism underscores that willingness should not be equated with non-ageist practice.