Constructing the foundations for compassionate care: How service-learning affects nursing students' attitudes towards the poor

When nurses possess negative attitudes toward people with low socio-economic status it can negatively influence patient care. This study examines whether providing care in a service-learning environment positively affects nursing students' world views and empathy toward the poor. Using a pre-post design, the Attitudes about Poverty and Poor People Scale and the Just World Scale were administered to both a control group and nursing students engaged in a clinical rotation at a low-income housing facility or homeless shelter in spring and fall 2010. Findings show the service learning treatment modestly enhanced empathy and students' views on justice, while not improving superficial perceptions of the poor.