Houseless Simulation

The Hawaii Interprofessional Education (HIPE) piloted its first ever Houseless simulation on December 2, 2021 in collaboration with Waianae Neighborhood Place and the HI Department of Education utilizing adapted content from Project RISE in Akron, Ohio. Participants from the UH Manoa Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing, John A. Burns School of Medicine, I Ola Lahui Postdoctoral Psychology Fellowship program, and the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health imagined a day in the life of a mother of three children all experiencing houselessness, as the mother made decisions about shelter, income, physical health, and mental health.

The activity was held virtually using online tools to engage participants. The goals of the pilot simulation was to develop participants’ empathy and awareness of the impact of houselessness, as well as demonstrate how individual providers and interprofessional teams can better support patients experiencing houselessness. This simulation is being evaluated for integration in the interprofessional education curriculum being offered by HIPE-participating UH System programs and community partners such as Hawaii Keiki: Health and Ready to Learn.