Interactive Poverty Simulation: Nursing Students' Perceptions of Poverty

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Sociology
• Health Equity

Background:

• Understanding and addressing poverty is crucial in healthcare.
• Nursing students require effective training to develop empathetic attitudes toward impoverished populations.
• Poverty simulations are increasingly used as educational tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a poverty simulation on baccalaureate nursing students' attitudes.
• To identify specific attitudinal changes, both positive and negative, resulting from the simulation.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the simulation as an educational intervention.

Main Methods:

• A single-group pretest-posttest design was employed.
• The Attitude Toward Poverty Scale-Short Form was used for pre- and post-simulation measurements.
• Data analysis focused on changes in specific attitude items and domain scores.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in 11 of 21 attitude items.
• Positive changes were noted in subscales related to stigma and structural perspectives.
• A significant worsening of attitudes was found in four items and the personal deficiency domain.

Conclusions:

• The poverty simulation yielded mixed results regarding nursing students' attitudes toward poverty.
• Concerns regarding the administration of the simulation warrant further investigation.
• Refining simulation protocols may be necessary to optimize its educational impact and avoid negative attitudinal shifts.