102 Chapter 5 Abstract Background Emergency physicians (EPs) often regard care for older adults as complex, while they lack sufficient geriatric skills. Objective This study evaluates the effect of a geriatric education program on EPs’ geriatric knowledge, attitude and medical practice when treating older adults. Methods A mixed-methods study was performed on EPs from two Dutch hospitals. Effects were measured by pre-post tests of EPs’ (n=21) knowledge of geriatric syndromes and attitudes towards older adults, and by a retrospective pre-post analysis of 100 records of patients aged 70 years or older. Six EPs were purposively sampled and interviewed after completion of the education program. Results The program significantly improved EPs’ geriatric knowledge. EPs indicated that the program improved their ability and attentiveness to recognize frailty and geriatric syndromes. The program also significantly improved EPs’ attention for the older patient’s social history and circumstances (p=0.04), but did not have a significant effect on medical decision-making. EPs valued especially the case-based teaching and indicated that the interactive setting helped them to better under- stand and retain knowledge. Conclusion Combined quantitative and qualitative data suggests that EPs benefit from geriatric emergency teaching. Future enhancement and evaluation of the geriatric education program is needed to confirm benefits to clinical practice and patient outcomes.
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