Readiness for Geriatric Care: Assessing Knowledge and Attitudes Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in Malaysia

Introduction : Nurses play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality and safe care to older adults, directly influencing health outcomes and overall quality of life. As the global aging population continues to increase, assessing the readiness of future nurses to meet these growing demands is becoming increasingly important. Methods : A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 170 undergraduate nursing students from a public university in Malaysia, using stratified random sampling. The Geriatric Knowledge Assessment Scale and Geriatric Attitude Scale were used to evaluate students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward caring for older adults, respectively. Results : Most respondents demonstrated moderate (67.3%) to high (20.0%) knowledge and predominantly positive attitudes (78.0%) toward older adult care. Gender was significantly associated with knowledge (χ² = 6.42, p = 0.01), whereas cohabitation with grandparents significantly predicted positive attitudes (χ² = 6.63, p = 0.01; OR = 5.09, p = 0.005). The year of study was significantly related to both knowledge (F = 8.49, p < 0.001) and attitude (F = 3.20, p = 0.025). No significant association was observed between knowledge and attitude (χ² = 0.62, p = 0.43). Conclusion : Although nursing students generally held positive attitudes, their knowledge of care for older adults was moderate. Importantly, living with grandparents emerged as a significant and culturally relevant predictor of positive attitudes, an insight that has been underexplored in existing literature. These findings underscore the importance of integrating family-centered and culturally sensitive content into gerontology education to enhance both knowledge and empathy in preparing future nurses.