The first-ever Interprofessional Poverty Simulation event was hosted as a joint effort between Northeast Indiana Area Heath Education Center.

Ninety students registered to participate in this event, with additional faculty spectators, on November 18 in the Alumni Center Assembly Hall.

The event offered a unique, interactive, shared experience intended to help students understand what it may be like to live in poverty. Students explored the realities of living with significant financial constraints, limited time, and high stress by roleplaying as a family challenged by a specific set of conditions.

As future healthcare professionals who will work with patients of diverse backgrounds, it’s important to understand the difficult choices faced by those living on a fixed income. Poverty is a barrier that affects medical care in various ways, whether it’s compliance with treatment plans, and missing follow-up appointments and more.