Date of Scholarly Project Submission

11-2018

Degree Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Faculty Chairperson

Dr. Terry Delpier

Second Committee Member

Dr. Lisa Flood

Third Committee Member

Professor Nancy Maas

Abstract

Poverty is an ongoing issue in the United States, with major implications for the health of U.S. citizens. In order to provide compassionate care, nurses must understand their own attitudes towards those living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for possible changes in attitudes towards poverty in junior level BSN students after a poverty simulation intervention. Participants were surveyed using the Yun and Weaver’s Short Form Attitudes towards Poverty (SFATP) tool, which looks three factors of poverty attitudes: personal deficiency, stigma, and structural perspective.

The Adult Learning Theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. This theory focuses on four components of the adult learner: adults need to be a part of the teaching, immediate relevance to one’s life/job is needed, the experience provides learning, adult learners will be able to feel like they are solving the problem.

Results were analyzed using independent t-test analysis, after completion of questionnaires called the Short Form Attitudes towards Poverty (SFATP) survey. No statistical significance was found when comparing control and intervention groups with the smaller student participant numbers in this study. However, when comparing a larger cohort of students, significant changes in attitudes were seen in the areas of Stigma and Structural Perspectives. Recommendations for further research include ongoing data collection with a larger group of participants as well as analysis of Qualitative data.

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