Pilot Study to Determine the Effectiveness of a Home Health Nursing Simulation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Simulation
• Home Healthcare

Background:

• Increasing demand for home care services driven by an aging population and chronic disease prevalence.
• Need for nurses to possess advanced skills and clinical judgment for effective home care delivery.
• Limited research on the application of home care nursing simulations for practicing nurses and associate degree students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot home care nursing simulation in preparing practicing nurses and associate degree nursing students.
• To assess participants' perceptions of simulation effectiveness regarding skill acquisition and clinical judgment development.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 9 associate degree nursing students, 8 practicing home healthcare nurses, and 2 nursing faculty participated.
• The Simulation Effectiveness Tool - Modified (SET-M) Survey was used for data collection.
• Data analysis focused on participant agreement with pre-briefing, scenario-confidence, scenario-learning, and debriefing components.

Main Results:

• Participants reported high overall agreement, perceiving the home healthcare simulation as an effective practice experience.
• Positive feedback was noted across all measured aspects: pre-briefing, scenario-confidence, scenario-learning, and debriefing.
• The simulation demonstrated potential as a valuable tool for enhancing home care nursing competency.

Conclusions:

• Home care nursing simulations are perceived as effective by both students and practicing nurses.
• Findings support the development of partnerships to integrate home care simulation into nursing education and professional development.
• Simulation offers a viable strategy to enhance readiness for the complexities of home healthcare.