Changing attitudes of allied health students toward the aged through computer-based instruction

The problem of this study was to determine if on out-of-class compute-rbased instructional module (CBIM), dispelling the myths end stereotypes of aging, would modify the attitudes of allied health students toward the aged. The instructional module was developed using on authoring system which was based on the Courseware Design Framework and Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction. The CBIM was validated by a panel of judges and field tested prior to testing the program. Students enrolled in Introduction to Heoith Core (N=29), a class at West Virginia State College, Institute, WV, were randomly assigned to two groups. Group I (n=14) and Group II (n=15). Both groups took the pre-test and post-test and were exposed to the treatment. The subjects' attitudes were measured using Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (AGP). A student's t-test was performed to determine if there were significant differences between the means of the pre-test and post-test scores of both groups. A .05 level of significance was used. The results of the t-test indicated there was a significant difference between the mean attitude scores of the Group I post-test and Group II pre test. Based on this evidence, the null hypothesis was rejected. The study showed that a computer-based instructional module dispelling the myths and stereotypes of aging is an effective tool for improving the attitudes of allied health students toward the aged.