Effect of an aged simulation suit on nursing students’ attitudes and empathy

• Published in: European geriatric medicine Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 667 - 675
• Main Authors: Sari, Dilek, Taskiran, Nihal, Baysal, Ebru, Acar, Esin, Cevik Akyil, Rahsan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-08-2020
• Subjects: Geriatrics/Gerontology; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Research Paper; Nursing students; Aged simulation suit; Simulation; Older persons
• ISSN: 1878-7649; 1878-7657; 1878-7657
• DOI: 10.1007/s41999-020-00316-z

Key summary points
Aim
To explore the effect of use of an aged simulation suit on the empathy and attitudes of nursing students towards older persons (e.g., older age people, geriatric patients).
Findings
Use of an aged simulation suit may help students overcome challenges in demonstrating empathy and positive attitudes toward older persons.
Message
It is important to determine the level of empathy among new students entering the school of nursing and to provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills for developing empathy towards older persons.
Purpose
Today, with an increasingly older population, it is essential to have well-educated and well-prepared nurses who can meet the health-related needs of geriatric patients but in some cases students have difficulty in understanding and empathizing with older persons. The impact of use of an aged simulation suit on the empathy and attitudes of nursing students towards older persons was investigated in this study.
Methods
A descriptive mixed-methods study was conducted, using the Basic Empathy Scale, The Kogan’s Attitude towards Old People Scale, and semi-structured interviews.
Results
The Kogan’s Attitude towards Old People Scale mean scores and the Basic Empathy Scale mean scores showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the empathy and attitude scores of students from the high-score group after they had carried out tasks using an aged simulation suit. A total of four themes were determined through data analysis.
Conclusion
The use of an aged simulation suit proved to be an effective educational technique which made a positive contribution towards nursing students’ development of empathy and also made a positive change in their attitude towards older persons.