Measuring the impact of a ‘point of view’ disability simulation on nursing students' empathy using the Comprehensive State Empathy Scale
Introduction
In Australia 20% of the population have a disability, and 1.4 million people have severe disabilities and require help with mobility, communication and/or self-care (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Although empathy is an integral component of professional practice and person-centred care (Brunero et al., 2010), a body of research has identified that vulnerable patients groups, such as people with a disability, frequently experience healthcare that is less than optimal and lacking in empathy. This is illustrated in recent healthcare reports which highlight examples of discrimination, systemic indifference and neglect of people with a disability (Department of Health, 2012, Francis, 2013, Parliament of Victoria, 2016).
While empathic care contributes substantially to both physiological and psychosocial patient outcomes (Hojat et al., 2013, Scott, 2011), studies suggest that healthcare professionals sometimes have a limited understanding of the perspectives, concerns, needs and healthcare preferences of people with a disability (Iezzoni et al., 2003, Kitson et al., 2012). For these reasons, educational interventions designed to foster empathy are increasingly being introduced into healthcare curricula. The most effective of these initiatives are immersive point-of-view simulations which allow learners to ‘step into a patient's shoes’ and ‘see the world through their eyes’ in order to gain new insights into the feelings, perspectives and experiences of another person (Bearman et al., 2015, Everson et al., 2015).
This paper presents one component of a multi-site mixed methods study that examined the impact of an immersive point-of-view simulation on nursing students' empathy towards people with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) using the Comprehensive State Empathy Scale (CSES) (Everson et al., under review).
Section snippets
The Meaning and Meaningfulness of Empathy
Empathy is a multidimensional construct and the literature is replete with various definitions of the term. At a broad level empathy involves the cognitive ability to intuit what another person is feeling (evaluative response), an emotional resonance with those feelings (affective response), and the intention to respond compassionately to the person's needs and concerns (behavioural response) (Hatfield et al., 2011). In the general community there have been generational shifts in empathy
Study Aim
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of an immersive point-of-view simulation on nursing students' empathy towards people with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).
Study Design
This study employed a two-group pre-test post-test design. Comparisons in empathy levels were made at baseline (pre-test) and after the simulation experience (post-test).
Setting
Participants were a convenience sample of second-year bachelor of nursing students from three campuses of one Australian university.
Recruitment and Ethical Considerations
An announcement and a participant information statement were posted on an electronic learning management system (Blackboard™), and potential participants were invited to email the researchers if
Participant Socio-demographic Characteristics
A total of 390 students from a cohort of 488 participated in the study, giving a response rate of 80%. The majority were female (92.5%) and their ages ranged from 19 to 67 years, with an average of 28.80 years (SD = 9.42). The majority (63%) of participants had personal or professional experiences caring for a person with a disability. See Table 1 for further details about the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample.
Psychometric Testing of the CSES
Psychometric testing of the CSES demonstrated good internal consistency
Discussion
Empathy is one of the strongest negative correlates of prejudice (Pettigrew and Tropp, 2008) and integral to safe, professional and effective nursing ‘practice’ (Brunero et al., 2010). Premised on this understanding, empathy simulations are increasingly being implemented in healthcare education. Although a range of different simulation modalities have been used, for example, standardised patients, manikins, role-plays, games, and virtual reality (Ker and Bradley, 2010); a systematic review
Conclusion
The results from this study are encouraging and attest to the potential for immersive point-of-view simulations to positively impact learners' empathy towards other vulnerable patient groups. Given the unequivocal evidence about the physiological and psychosocial impact of empathic engagement with patients, further research with other student cohorts and in other contexts would be beneficial to extend on this work. Additionally, as scale development is an iterative process further studies
Funding Sources
N/A.
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