Connecting Older Adults with Students Through Interprofessional Telecare (COAST-IT)

By 2030, it is projected that one in five people in the United States will be 65 years old and older. It is critical that future health care professionals are prepared to care for older adults. Students’ communication skills and attitudes toward older adults have been shown to benefit from a geriatric specific curriculum. Connecting Older Adults with Students Through Interprofessional Telecare (COAST-IT), a longitudinal program begun in 2020, pairs student partners (SPs) with older adult partners (OAPs) who have regular phone calls. This was implemented across various graduate health profession schools and aims to provide students the opportunity to learn and practice effective communication skills with older adults, while also decreasing social isolation and loneliness experienced by the older adult partner. This paper focuses on our initial results looking at the impact on students who participated. Students were surveyed pre- and post-participation in the COAST-IT program through a combination of open-ended questions and questions taken from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Geriatrics Attitude Scale. Students reported an improvement in their ability to communicate with older adults, increased confidence in their communication skills, and an improved understanding of ageism.

Initially, OAPs were recruited from a variety of local facilities including the geriatric clinic associated with the University and the community of assisted living and long-term care facilities, senior living communities, and various community organizations that focus on serving older adults. The Director of Outreach Programs in the Multidisciplinary Center on Aging at the University of Colorado presented to civic organizations and older adults began volunteering. Word of mouth spread among OAPs, and they began recruiting their friends; there are now OAPs from nine states participating. The program received a Social Innovation Award from the National Area of Agencies in Washington D.C., which supported our university's Age Friendly University designation.

Students are oriented to the program and process of conducting weekly phone calls by their faculty coordinator in each program. The COAST-IT mission, process information, and examples of communication techniques are provided to students through a student handbook and Learning Management System module. Students participate in an interdisciplinary formal orientation prior to engaging in their OAP encounters. Monthly synchronous online educational presentations are provided to all students. Topics include a variety of issues on aging with breakout sessions for discussion and networking among disciplines.