Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Geriatric Care Among Medical and Nursing Students in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: The worldwide increase in the number of older adults presents a growing demand for geriatric health care professionals. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), little is known about their knowledge of and attitudes toward caring for older adults. This study assessed baseline knowledge and attitudes toward older adults among medical and nursing students in the UAE and explored factors associated with both. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University from October 2023 to March 2024. A validated, anonymous, selfadministered questionnaire comprising demographic items, the Palmore Facts on Aging Quiz (scored to reduce guessing bias and establish a weighted baseline), and the UCLA Geriatric Attitude Scale was distributed to medical and nursing students via online and physical platforms. Data were analyzed using SPSS v29, applying descriptive statistics and inferential tests (Chi-square, t-tests) with a significance threshold of p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Of 265 enrolled subjects (mean age 21.2 ± 1.5 years; 52% male, 48% female), 49% reported being in the College of Medicine and 51% in the College of Nursing. Knowledge was higher among nursing students than among medical students (37.3 ± 3.1 versus 36.6 ± 3.2, p = 0.042). Preclinical students scored lower than clinical-year students in knowledge (36.4 ± 3.1 vs 37.5 ± 3.1; p = 0.007). Female students and medical students held more positive attitudes compared to male students (3.21 ± 0.51 vs. 2.98 ± 0.46; p < 0.001) and nursing students (3.19 ± 0.47 vs. 3.01 ± 0.51; p = 0.003). Knowledge and attitude scores were weakly but significantly inversely correlated (r = -0.37; p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Students showed moderate knowledge and mixed attitudes toward caring for older adults. Clinical experience and a nursing curriculum were associated with higher factual understanding, but these were not associated with more positive attitudes. The inverse correlation between knowledge and attitudes suggests that factual learning alone is not directly linked to greater empathy. Cultural and institutional factors may also play a role. Interprofessional training that combines hands-on care with empathy-building activities may help address this gap. CONCLUSION: Medical and nursing students in the UAE demonstrate moderate geriatric knowledge and mixed attitudes, with a weak inverse correlation between them. These findings highlight the need for further evaluation of geriatric education and student preparedness in the UAE, particularly through multicenter and longitudinal studies.