Nursing students' experiences of a service-learning programme with older adults living in poverty in a high-income country: A phenomenological study.

Abstract

Aim: To understand the experiences of nursing students participating in a service-learning programme with older adults living in poverty in a high-income country.

Background: Nursing students should be competent in assessing the needs of older people living in poverty as well as in implementing and evaluating the effect of individualised health promotion interventions. Service-learning is a strategy that not only improves the biopsychosocial health of older adults, but also enables nursing students to acquire competence in promoting health and self-care among older adults living in poverty. In addition, these service-learning programmes are known to break down stereotypes and improve attitudes towards older adults. However, there is a lack of research on experiences with service-learning programmes aimed at promoting health and self-care amongst older adults living in poverty in high-income countries.

Design: Qualitative study based on Husserl's phenomenology.

Method: Thirty-three interviews were conducted with nursing students who had participated in a service-learning programme. The data were recorded, transcribed and analysed following the procedure developed by Colaizzi. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Results: Three main themes were drawn from the data analysis: (1) 'From feeling overwhelmed to gratitude: an emotional journey', (2) 'From perceiving poverty as a threat to seeing it as a condition of vulnerability', (3) 'Growing as a person and as a nurse'.

Conclusion: Service-learning programmes with older adults living in poverty have a positive impact on the personal and professional growth of nursing students; their involvement in such programmes could help them to break down social stereotypes, overcome fears of intervening in socially deprived neighbourhoods and become more socially responsible.