出版社：Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE)
摘要：Purpose: Homelessness is one of the most significant social determinants of health, yet it remains difficult to integrate within educational material for pre-clerkship medical students. Current homelessness health curricula are limited and may perpetuate negative stigmas of homelessness. This qualitative study evaluated a Pen-Pal Project curriculum innovation that aimed to facilitate empathy and teaching through letter exchanges, where medical students were paired with community members with a lived experience of homelessness. Method: The researchers explored 10 pre-clerkship medical students’ experience in this four-week letter exchange. Semi-structured interviews with medical student participants were conducted in July 2020. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by two independent coders. Codes were analyzed within code groups for themes, supported by group discussion, and analytic memos. Results: Medical students' impressions of the Pen-Pal Project were overwhelmingly positive and were frequently attributed to developing a genuine and mutually beneficial relationship with a community member. From learning about their pen-pals’ emotional experiences with healthcare and homelessness, students partaking in the Pen-pal Project endorsed improved communication, advocacy, and empathy skills. Lastly, although homelessness education was unanimously perceived as important, all students believed that current medical curricula are lacking in this area. Conclusions: These findings contributed to the sparse medical educational efforts on homelessness health and provide a deeper understanding of students’ perceptions on an inexpensive and simple tool to facilitate empathy development and community involvement.
