A Poverty Simulation's Impact on Nursing and Social Work Students' Attitudes Towards Poverty and Health

Background: Currently, about 40 million people in the United States live in poverty, one of the most significant social determinants of health. Nurses and social workers must understand the effect of living in poverty on their clients' health and quality of life. Purpose: Nurses and social workers will encounter persons living in poverty. Therefore, beginning in their undergraduate education, health professions students must be aware of their attitudes towards poverty and how poverty affects health. Methods: The Community Action Poverty Simulation was conducted with nursing and social work students at a small liberal arts institution. The Attitudes toward Poverty-Short Form (ATP-SF) and Beliefs Related to Poverty and Health (BRPH) tools were used pre- and postsimulation to assess students' attitudes about poverty and beliefs about the relationship between poverty and health. An emotional response plan was created to address participants' emotional responses by providing a separate space on-site and information about future resources. Results: The ATP-SF showed a significant overall difference (p < .001) between pre- and postsimulation surveys, indicating a shift toward a structural explanation of poverty; the BRPH showed that participants believed poverty is the result of illness and inability to work (p < .01). Conclusion: This study supports poverty simulation use to promote awareness of attitudes towards those living in poverty and how poverty impacts health. Recommendations include using more community resource volunteers with first-hand poverty experience, allowing students to role-play adults or older teens in the simulation, and including other health professions students.