Stepping into the shoes of older patients: a scoping review of simulating ageing experiences for healthcare professional students

Oral Presentation 5
Dr Elaine Nelson, Dr Andrew Spence, Prof Gerry Gormley

Stepping into the shoes of older patients: a scoping review of simulating ageing experiences for healthcare professional students.

Introduction
Ageing simulation suits and equipment give Healthcare Professional (HCP) students the opportunity to experience what it might feel like to be an older person with a disability or illness associated with ageing. An ageing simulation experience were students have to complete Activities of Daily Living (ADL) tasks can highlight the challenges that an older person may face as they strive to maintain their independence.

Objectives We undertook a scoping review with the aim of establishing from the evidence what is known about simulating ageing experiences for HCP students and its impact on attitudes towards older patients.

Methods We applied Arksey and O’Malley’s framework (1) to achieve relevant articles, which met the inclusion criteria for our scoping review question. Four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) were searched. This resulted in 114 citations. After screening these articles and applying our exclusion criteria, we had 14 articles selected for inclusion.

Outcomes Of the 14 studies, 8 (57%) originated from the United States of America and seven (50%) used a mixed-methods model. Thirteen (93%) studies involved medical or nursing students from varying years of study. One (7%) study had HCP students from multiple disciplines plus multiple years of study. There were two types of simulation experience identified: workshop based and the use of an Ageing Game. Sensory impairments simulated included visual and hearing impairments, mobility issues and specific illnesses like Parkinson’s disease, stroke and diabetic neuropathy. Managing medications, managing finances and functional ability were the most common ADL simulated. The majority of studies reported a positive impact on knowledge in geriatrics plus attitudes and empathy towards older people. Negative emotions were reported, most commonly frustration over the inability to do a normally easy task.

Conclusions Teaching in geriatrics should be compulsory on all HCP undergraduate curricula and be a positive experience promoting successful ageing while raising awareness of ageism. As recognised trainers, we must attract and inspire HCP students into geriatrics as a future career. Future research should include interprofessional education, bringing HCP students together early as an undergraduate, throughout training and into postgraduate working to gain experience as part of collaborative Multidisciplinary Team working. The use of ageing simulation is an ideal teaching technique to facilitate this.