ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of experience on completed dementia-related subjects, clinical practice, volunteerism, and social services regarding the cognition of dementia in occupational therapy majoring college students according to changes in the dementia policy due to an aging population. The purpose of this study was to provide a direction of education that can raise the interest in dementia and geriatric occupational therapy of occupational therapy majors. Methods: The survey was conducted online, targeting university students in Daejeon, Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Kyungbuk. The questionnaire was conducted for one month from May 1, 2018, and 207 participants participated. A frequency analysis, independent t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression were conducted for the analysis results. Results: Dementia knowledge and policy perception were significantly higher in subjects with dementia-related experiences, and dementia-related experiences and dementia knowledge and policy perception were significantly correlated. In addition, dementia-related experiences and awareness of dementia had a significant effect on career hopes for dementia-related organizations, and the explanatory power of the model was 26.4%. The influence of variables on career hopes showed the need for dementia education, policy awareness, experience using social services, dementia-related subjects, and gender. Conclusion: To increase interest in dementia knowledge and related policies of college students majoring in occupational therapy, it is necessary to search for ways to provide various dementia-related experiences within the curriculum. Through this, directions for careerists hoping to achieve social change will be suggested, with the hope that it will help improve the professionalism of geriatric occupational therapy.