Life-Cycle: A Social-Simulation Game to Improve Attitudes and Responses to the Elderly

The preference of health professionals for careers in fields other than geriatrics appears related to their negative, stereotyped attitudes toward the elderly. Besides sewing as a disincentive to providing service to the elderly, stereotyped attitudes also act as a barrier to forming therapeutic relationships with patients in this age group. To address this problem, the author designed the social-simulation game, Life Cycle, as an educational tool to improve attitudes and communication skills of service providers when they interact with the elderly. The game incorporates into one package the teaching strategies of simulation-gaming, role-playing, videoor audio-tape feedback, and peer learning. Data from an evaluation of the game as a teaching tool in inservice training within a private nursing home showed that the experimental group who played Life-Cycle had significantly more positive emotional responses (attitudes) toward an old person than the nonplayers in the control group. Even though attitudes toward elderly persons improved after the ] 1-hour training program with Life-Cycle, verbal responses remained nontherapeutic, indicating a need for more playing time and'or supplementary classes in therapeutic communication.