Abstract
BACKGROUND: The long-term effects of use of the flipped classroom to teach geriatric medicine are still underexplored. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether different educational interventions on geriatrics (i.e., flipped classrooms-FL and traditional lectures-TR) could have an influence on long-term attitudes and stereotypes among medical students compared to not having such exposure (control-CG) after 2 years of follow-up. METHOD: An intervention study was conducted during the third year of medical school training. Two different educational strategies (FL and TR) were incorporated into a course of geriatrics. Students were evaluated at baseline, postintervention, and after 2 years of follow-up concerning their attitudes toward older persons (Maxwell-Sullivan, UCLA geriatric attitudes), empathy (Maxwell-Sullivan), knowledge and stereotypes (Palmore Facts on Aging), and self-reported opinions on older adults. RESULTS: A total of 216 medical students were included (68 CG, 72 TR, and 76 FL). At the 2-year follow-up, the FL had better scores than the TR on the Palmore Facts on Aging (d = 0.42); the FL had better scores than the control group for the Maxwell-Sullivan Attitudes (d = 0.40); and both the FL and TR had better scores for the Palmore Facts on Aging (d = 1.56 to 1.75) and the Likert items "preparedness" (d = 1.10 to 1.19), "knowledge" (d = 1.08 to 1.20), and "prescribing" (d = 0.33 to 0.40) compared to the CG. CONCLUSIONS: Teaching geriatric medicine could impact the long-term outcomes of medical students and the way this teaching is delivered can influence students' learning.