Teaming Up for Community Health Simulation Intervention: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Abstract AIM The aim of this study was to examine whether participating in a team-based simulation intervention would improve nursing students’ empathy and commitment to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and interprofessional teamwork attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Outcomes were compared for intraprofessional versus interprofessional team participation. BACKGROUND Nursing students must learn strategies to address SDOH, but this content is not well integrated in curricula. Teaming Up for Community Health was created to provide SDOH experiential team learning. METHOD Eighty-five nursing students participated in the intraprofessional comparison group or interprofessional intervention group. Surveys were completed before and after the intervention and two months later. RESULTS Participants had heightened empathy and commitment to addressing SDOH at baseline. Interprofessional teamwork beliefs and behaviors improved for both groups. CONCLUSION Experiential learning about SDOH should focus on improving students’ self-confidence and performance. Based on the study results, experiential team learning should be threaded through curricula.