Effectiveness of a Poverty Simulation in Second Life®: Changing Nursing Student Attitudes toward Poor People

Authors

Nancy Menzel, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Laura Helen Willson, THINK TogetherFollow
Jessica Doolen, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2014

Publication Title

International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship

Volume

11

Issue

1

First page number:

1

Last page number:

7

Abstract

Social justice is a fundamental value of the nursing profession, challenging educators to instill this professional value when caring for the poor. This randomized controlled trial examined whether an interactive virtual poverty simulation created in Second Life^® would improve nursing students’ empathy with and attributions for people living in poverty, compared to a self-study module. We created a multi-user virtual environment populated with families and individual avatars that represented the demographics contributing to poverty and vulnerability. Participants (N = 51 baccalaureate nursing students) were randomly assigned to either Intervention or Control groups and completed the modified Attitudes toward Poverty Scale pre- and post-intervention. The 2.5-hour simulation was delivered three times over a 1-year period to students in successive community health nursing classes. The investigators conducted post-simulation debriefings following a script. While participants in the virtual poverty simulation developed significantly more favorable attitudes on five questions than the Control group, the total scores did not differ significantly. Whereas students readily learned how to navigate inside Second Life^®, faculty facilitators required periodic coaching and guidance to be competent. While poverty simulations, whether virtual or face-to-face, have some ability to transform nursing student attitudes, faculty must incorporate social justice concepts throughout the curriculum to produce lasting change.

Keywords

Computer simulation; Nursing Students; On-Line Teaching; Poverty; Second Life®; Second Life (Game); Social Justice – Study and teaching; Virtual Simulation

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Educational Methods | Inequality and Stratification | Nursing

Language

English

Repository Citation

Menzel, N., Willson, L. H., Doolen, J. (2014). Effectiveness of a Poverty Simulation in Second Life®: Changing Nursing Student Attitudes toward Poor People. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 11(1), 1-7.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2013-0076