Background The global population is ageing and this trend is expected to continue. Attitudes towards older people differ worldwide. Ageism is a complex, multifaceted concept that includes attitudes and behaviours. In the UK, ageism and discriminatory practices exist in nursing, and educationalists and clinicians need to address ageist attitudes and promote the care of older people. In nursing there is a lack of synthesised evidence measuring ageism among nursing students.

Aim To explore the use of the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) questionnaire in different student populations in higher education, including nursing students.

Method A systematic search was conducted for articles written in English describing the use of ROPE, published between 2007 and 2017. Six quantitative studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Statistical analysis was not possible and a thematic analysis of these studies was completed.

Findings Two themes emerged: attitudes predict behaviour and socialisation to ageism in higher education. Ageist attitudes were correlated with negative ageist behaviours and the socialisation of nursing students in clinical practice increased ageist attitudes.

Conclusion Ageism and the ageist attitudes of nursing students must continue to be explored. ROPE is a suitable tool to measure nursing students’ ageist attitudes and behaviours.