(5) Teaming Up for Community Health Simulation Intervention: Mixed Methods Evaluation

Abstract: To improve health outcomes, prelicensure nursing students must learn about social determinants of health (SDoH) and strategies they can implement. Unfortunately, SDoH are not well-integrated in curricula. Teaming Up for Community Health (TUCH) was created to provide experiential learning about team-based care to address SDoH in community settings. Evaluation used a mixed methods approach.

TUCH was a 3-day intervention of various simulations: video-recorded, poverty, and evolving standardized patient (escape room, telehealth encounter, and clinic visit). Participants were 41 nursing students (intraprofessional comparison group) and 44 nursing and 10 social work students (interprofessional intervention group). Surveys occurred pre-post-TUCH and 2-months later. Undergraduate Perceptions of Poverty Tracking Survey scores showed a high level of empathy and commitment to address SDoH at baseline, with small improvements post-TUCH. For the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale, there was a significant improvement for the intervention group, but a return to baseline signaling a need for ongoing IPE. The Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale measured teamwork beliefs and behaviors, and both groups had significant improvement post-TUCH and 2-months later, supporting both intra- and inter-professional team learning.

Focus groups were conducted 2-weeks post-TUCH with 18 comparison group students and 16 intervention group students. Four themes emerged: Better understanding of community nursing; Addressing SDoH is complicated but necessary; Teamwork is important to practice; and Learning is enhanced by engaging and applying. Themes enriched understanding of survey results. Participants felt community health, SDoH, and team-based care are complicated and should be threaded through curricula with experiential learning opportunities.

Please include a short summary of your presentation that highlights why an attendee would want to view your poster.: Teaming Up for Community Health provided team-based learning on social determinants of health (SDoH) via poverty, escape room, and SP simulations. BSN students participated intraprofessionally or interprofessionally (with social work). Teamwork beliefs and behaviors significantly improved, supporting intra- and inter-professional learning. Focus groups revealed team care and SDoH are complicated, and participants longed for more experiential learning.