A poverty simulation to enhance nursing student knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward people living in poverty

Nursing Students' Experience of a Poverty Simulation and Its Impact on Empathy and Social Justice Awareness: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Holistic nursing practice requires an understanding of the constraints of poverty as one of the social determinants of health. Future nurses need to be change agents for social justice. A descriptive, qualitative study was conducted to explore students' experience of the Missouri Association for Community Action Poverty Simulation© (CAPS) and its impact on empathy and social justice awareness among a purposive sample of 56 sophomore baccalaureate nursing students at a public university in the Northeastern United States. Inductive thematic analysis was applied to data collected from a postparticipation reflection paper. Five themes emerged: (a) emotions, (b) personal history of poverty, (c) empathy, (d) rising advocacy, and (e) lessons learned. The results support that the CAPS simulation provides an experiential opportunity which impacts empathy and foundational attitudes to be a change agent for social justice. Recommendations include structured education about social determinants of health prior to the CAPS simulation, continued education throughout nursing curricula, and experiential opportunities to apply social justice skills before graduation.

Virtual Poverty Simulation: Effect on Attitudes Toward Poverty in Nursing Students

BACKGROUND

Simulation has been shown to be an effective teaching strategy for increasing nursing students' knowledge and empathy toward individuals with low income. Virtual simulation is effective in teaching critical thinking, situational awareness, and empathy.

METHOD

This mixed-method study examined three virtual poverty simulation programs. The study sample included senior baccalaureate nursing students (n = 99) in a Community Health course.

RESULTS

Fifteen of the 21 items on the Attitudes Toward Poverty-Short Form (ATP-SF) scale showed a statistically significant increase in knowledge and understanding of people living in poverty. Qualitative data analysis revealed four themes: (1) empathy; (2) sacrifice; (3) stress; and (4) moral struggle.

CONCLUSION

Virtual poverty simulation is a teaching strategy for increasing nursing students' empathy, knowledge, and understanding of those living in poverty to provide compassionate, culturally competent care for individuals with low income. The simulation can be implemented in a variety of settings. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(11):642-646.].