“Wash Your Eyes, See Differently”: Visual Thinking Strategies and Ageism in Medical Students—A Single-Arm Quasi-Experimental Pretest–Posttest Study

Objectives Ageism is prevalent among medical students and can lead to inequitable care and adverse health outcomes for the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) on reducing age stereotypes and ageist attitudes in medical students. Methods This single-arm, non-randomized quasi-experimental study used a pretest–posttest design and was conducted at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in fall 2025. Of 110 eligible pre-internship students, 35 were selected by simple random sampling; all participants received the intervention. The intervention comprised three 90-min sessions delivered over three consecutive days and included guided VTS discussions of artworks related to aging, group poetry, and mask-making. The two outcomes were attitudes toward older people, measured with Kogan’s Attitudes toward Older People Scale (KAOPS), and ageism, measured with the Ahmadi et al. scale. Outcomes were assessed immediately before and after the intervention. Pre–post differences were analysed using paired t tests. Results All 35 enrolled participants received the intervention, completed both assessments, and were included in the analysis. The mean KAOPS score increased from 103 ± 6.97 before the intervention to 121 ± 6.12 after the intervention (p < 0.001). The mean ageism score decreased from 141.7 ± 0.9 to 120.4 ± 1.4 (p < 0.001). Conclusion Participation in the short VTS-based educational intervention was associated with more positive attitudes toward older people and lower ageism scores. Because this was a small, single-arm study without a control group, the findings should be considered preliminary. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT), [IRCT20190402043153N1], registered on [2026-07-30 Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT), [IRCT20190402043153N1]