Is Perception Reality? Using Person-in-Context Simulation to Promote Empathic Understanding of Dementia Among Nurse...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Gerontology
• Simulation Technology

Background:

• Understanding dementia is crucial for nurse practitioners.
• Traditional education may not fully convey the lived experience of dementia.
• Developing empathy is key to effective dementia care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nurse practitioner students' perceptions of dementia before and after virtual simulation.
• To identify themes related to empathic understanding developed through virtual dementia simulation.

Main Methods:

• One-group, nonexperimental, pretest/posttest, repeated-measures design.
• Interpretative phenomenological analysis of student perceptions.
• Utilized low-fidelity virtual simulation for dementia experience.

Main Results:

• Perceptions of dementia and its challenges significantly changed post-simulation.
• A critical theme of "developing empathic understanding" emerged.
• Subthemes included "mirroring dementia behaviors" and "provoking emotions."

Conclusions:

• Virtual dementia simulation is an effective, inexpensive tool for challenging preconceptions about dementia.
• Experiential learning through simulation fosters crucial empathic understanding in nurse practitioner education.
• Further research should investigate the link between enhanced empathy and altruistic behaviors in practice.