Poverty Simulation Impact on Prelicensure Healthcare Students at a Four-Year University
Poverty Simulation Impact on Prelicensure Healthcare Students at a Four-Year University
Background: According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2019), there were 38.1 million (11.8%) people living in poverty in 2018. Texas’ and Louisiana’s poverty rate at that time was higher than the national average at 14.9% and 18.6% respectively (U.S. Census Bureau). There is an established association between poverty and health disparities, and poverty and health status, thereby making it a social determinant of health. Exposing pre-licensure healthcare students to a simulated poverty experience may enhance their understanding of poverty and potentially have an impact on their future patient care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of participation in a poverty simulation with pre-licensure health care and health-related program students. Specifically, attributions for poverty and attitudes toward interprofessional work were explored.
Design: A mixed method, pretest-posttest design was utilized for pre-licensure healthcare students across two institutions. Data was collected using online questionnaires prior to and following participation in simulation. Analysis included descriptive statistics for sociodemographic, and paired samples t-tests for comparisons. Pre- and post-ratings of attitudes toward Interprofessional work after participating in the poverty simulation experience for participants were evaluated.
Results: The sample (n=181) is a subset of a larger dataset (Nf262) and includes only pre-licensure healthcare students. Paired-sample t-tests compared pre- and post-simulation scores of the Poverty Attribution Survey (PAS) and Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS) subscales significant differences were found between pre and post-simulation scores for the IPAS Teamwork, Roles and Responsibility subscale, the PAS subscales of Individual and Cultural Attributions. No difference was found for structural attributions.
Conclusion: Improvements in Interprofessional attitudes around teamwork, roles, and responsibilities are positively impacted by simulations related to social determinants of health. Pre-licensure students were able to gain a better understanding of the complex causes of poverty. Poverty engagement in pre-licensure healthcare students is essential to improve healthcare outcomes which will impact health equity, influence bias, and increase the understanding of health determinants that affect population health.
Lessons learned: An interdisciplinary team poverty simulation event increased awareness how people in poverty interact with their community, and how it affects daily decision-making.
The poster fulfills the conference criteria:
1. Quadruple aim: improving population health
2.Interprofessional Collaboration to Address Health Equity, Racism and Bias
