Caregivers Are Heroes: An Innovative Educational Strategy Designed to Promote Compassion/Caring in Health Professional Students

• Published in: Journal of allied health Vol. 46; no. 2; p. 117
• Main Authors: Carson, Nancy E, Wise, Holly H, Jacques, Paul F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2017
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Caregivers - psychology; Education, Graduate; Empathy; Health Occupations - education; Humans; Interprofessional Relations; Students, Health Occupations - psychology
• ISSN: 1945-404X

Compassionate care is recognized as an intrinsic element of patient-centered care. Although the evidence seems to indicate that compassionate care can be developed in health professions students, few methodologies reported have been interprofessional in nature. This paper describes Caregivers Are Heroes, an interprofessional educational strategy designed to imbue compassion/caring.
The sample population consisted of 51 caregivers and 170 students enrolled in three graduate programs during the 2014 summer semester. Students conducted caregiver interviews (CGI) in interprofessional groups of 3 to 4 students. Pre- and post-CGI surveys were designed to measure change in student attitudes and perceptions from the CGI experience. Questions were taken from the Attitude Towards Helping Others (AHO) scale and the Zarit Burden Interview Screen (ZBIS).
Analysis indicated a significant change in responses for one of the four AHO statements and significant correlation between caregiver ZBIS score and student post-CGI ZBIS score.
Quantitative outcomes support the use of this strategy to promote changes in student attitudes that might lead to caring and compassion when interacting with caregivers and the recipients of their care. The variability of caregiver ZBIS scores is consistent with the literature on caregiver burden and emphasizes the need for students to appreciate the individuality of the caregiver experience.