Date Presented 03/21/24
An interprofessional poverty simulation may have positive effects on health science student attitudes toward individuals experiencing poverty and the circumstances of poverty, which can help prepare future clinicians with cultural humility.
Primary Author and Speaker: Peiluen Kuo
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kate Barlow
Contributing Authors: Lauren Arcibal, Michele Favolise, Frederick Hooven, Alina LeClaire, Kathryn Lewis, Linette Wilson
PURPOSE: Poverty simulations have been found to positively influence health science students’ attitudes towards poverty (Tillman et al., 2020). A poverty simulation was conducted with nursing, occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students in the fall of 2022. This study aimed to examine the perceived impact of an interprofessional Poverty Simulation on health science students’ attitudes towards poverty.
DESIGN: A pretest posttest design was utilized for this pilot study. The Attitude Toward Poverty Short Form (ATP-SF), which is a validated assessment tool (Yun & Weaver, 2010), was administered anonymously, along with the student demographic data.
METHOD: Undergraduate and graduate health science students (N=80) participated in the Community Action Poverty Simulation (Missouri Community Action Network, 2016). Students were randomly assigned the identity of a member of one of 23 families. The ATP-SF is a 21-item scale, using a Likert ranging from 1 (Strongly Agree) to 5 (Strongly Disagree). Significance between pre and post-simulation responses was assessed using paired t-tests for individual items and the three domains: Stigma, Personal Deficiency and Structural Perspective.
RESULTS: Pre and post-intervention surveys were completed (N=62) by 22 senior nursing students, 20 third-year graduate OT students and 26 third-year PT students, for a response rate of 77%. A statistically significant positive change (p<0.05) was found in eleven of 21 items of the ATP-SF, as well as one of the three domains (the Structural Perspective domain).
CONCLUSION: The simulation had a positive effect on students’ attitudes toward people impacted by and the circumstances of poverty. Future research using a control group intervention could help identify the effects of the specific intervention used in this study. This research is important as OT educators try and prepare future clinicians with cultural humility and to address the health disparities our clients face.
References
Clark, C., Sedlacek, R., Watson, S. (2016). Impact if simulation exercise on pharmacy student attitude toward poverty. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(2), 1-7. https://www.ajpe.org/content/80/2/21
Missouri Community Action Network. (2016). Poverty Simulations. Retrieved from https://www.communityaction.org/povertysimulations/
Tillman, P., Thomas, M., & Buelow, J. (2020). Impact of service learning on student attitudes toward the poor and underserved. Nurse Educator, 45(6), 316-320. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32091479/#:∼:text=Students%20expressed%20less%20bias%2C%20a,toward%20poverty%20and%20the%20underserved.
Yun, S. H., & Weaver, R. D. (2010). Development and validation of a short form of the Attitude Toward Poverty Scale. Advances in Social Work, 11(2), 174-187. https://doi.org/10.18060/437
