EMPATHY AND ATTITUDE UPON AN AGED BODY: SHORT TERM EFFECTS OF THE AGED SIMULATION SUIT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS

Purpose: When empathy and attitude levels of health professionals are high, patient compliance and satisfaction are increased. The purpose of this study was to assess the empathy and attitude levels of undergraduate physiotherapy students towards older people before and after wearing the aged simulation suit by performing pre-defined related scenarios.Material and Methods: The aged simulation suit was put on 63 students to complete the pre-defined scenarios, which included reading, eating, walking, and sitting to determine the experiences and emotions of students via semi-structured questions and interviews. The empathy and attitude levels were evaluated using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Students (JSE-HPS) version and Kogan's Attitudes Towards Old People (KAOP) scales at baseline and immediately after performed scenarios.Results: The scores of the JSE-HPS and its sub-scales, including "perspective-taking " (p < 0.001) and "compassionate care " (p=0.008), were significantly improved, while "standing in patient's shoes " was significantly decreased after the intervention (p=0.005). KAOP positive items were found to be higher compared to the baseline results (p=0.040). Besides, 87.1% of the students stated that their behavior towards older people would change positively.Conclusion: Using aged simulation suits may be an effective educational technique that positively contributes to undergraduate physiotherapy students' attitudes and empathy.