Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Within Community Health Nursing Simulation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Health Equity

Background:

• Undergraduate nursing programs struggle to provide adequate community and public health clinical experiences.
• A need exists for innovative teaching methods that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in nursing education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an alternative clinical teaching-learning experience for a senior-level undergraduate community and public health nursing course.
• To integrate DEI principles into the curriculum through simulation.

Main Methods:

• A simulation was designed to emulate a community home health visitation.
• Learners functioned as a healthcare team providing care within a simulated home setting.
• Theory and evidence-based practice guided the simulation development.

Main Results:

• All learners successfully met the project objectives.
• 88% of learners reported increased self-efficacy in community and public health nursing topics.
• Learner reflections provided qualitative insights into the simulation experience.

Conclusions:

• A simulation-based learning experience can fulfill clinical hour requirements in community and public health nursing.
• This project successfully incorporated DEI by addressing patient inequities within the LGBTQ+ community.
• The simulation provided valuable clinical learning opportunities promoting inclusive healthcare practices.