S2470C Behaviour Change: Caregiver Empathy Training at LifeLab

The LifeLab @ St Luke is an experiential and interactive learning facility designed to educate on the physical, sensory and psychosocial challenges experienced by seniors. Visitors may experience the use of geriatric simulation suits and attempt activities of daily living to gain insights into seniors’ daily struggles.

Although Life Lab provides an immersive learning environment, caregivers may differ in how effectively they develop and maintain empathy. This assignment requires you to examine the behavioural change principles that influence caregiver empathy and propose behaviour change techniques that may enhance the Life Lab’s educational experience for caregiver training.

Please answer all questions below:

1. Describe and explain FOUR predisposing factors that influence caregivers’ empathy towards ageing seniors in relation to the LifeLab(12 marks).

2. Discuss and propose how FOUR enabling factors within the LifeLab that could allow caregivers to understand seniors’ experiences and develop empathy (12 marks).

3. Explain FOUR reinforcing factors that may help caregivers maintain empathy during the LifeLab experience and recommend post activities for these factors (8 marks).

4. Apply SIX Behaviour Change Techniques to improve empathy among caregivers and explain how each BCTs can be applied to caregiver training within the LifeLab(18 marks).

Expert Answers on Above LifeLab Case Study

Predisposing factors influencing caregivers’ empathy

The food predisposing factors that influence caregivers’ empathy towards ageing seniors in relation to LifeLab are knowledge about ageing, attitude and belief about older adults, previous personal experience with seniors, and cultural values and norms. Their knowledge about ageing allows them to perceive seniors’ challenges accordingly in the given LifeLab experience. Their attitude towards the adult also affects their openness to empathising with senior struggles. Along with this, the cultural respect for elders leads to caregivers remaining highly empathetic during geriatric simulations.

Enabling factors within LifeLab that develop empathy

The four enabling factors are geriatric simulation suits, activities of daily living, structured guided reflection and safe learning environment. These enabling factors allow caregivers to experience mobility, vision and hearing limitations and also allows them to connect experiences to seniors’ real life needs.

Reinforcing factors and post LifeLab activities

The reinforcing factors include facilitator feedback, peer discussion and sharing, positive emotional impact and post activity reflection exercises. Immediate feedback helps in reinforcing empathetic attitudes whereas group reflection enhances emotional learning, and post activity reflection exercises like case discussion helps in maintaining empathy after LifeLab.

Behaviour change techniques to improve empathy

The behaviour change techniques to improve empathy are experiential learning, information about consequences, perspective taking, self reflection and self monitoring, social support and behavioural rehearsal. With these techniques, it can be possible to improve empathy.

This model answer is reviewed by Amanda Wun, a nursing graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Disclaimer: This answer is a model for study and reference purposes only. Please do not submit it as your own work.

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