Therapeutic Communication Training in Perinatal Loss: Simulation-Based Approaches

Different Methods in Therapeutic Communication Training for Student Nurses in the Perinatal Loss: High-Fidelity Simulation and Paper - Pencil Simulation

This study aims to evaluate the effect of simulation-based education on nursing students' therapeutic communication skills in managing perinatal loss. Perinatal loss, defined as early fetal loss before 20 weeks of gestation and late fetal loss at or after 20 weeks, is a traumatic experience that significantly impacts parents, especially mothers, on biological, psychological, social, and spiritual levels. Prolonged grief reactions can lead to complicated grief, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and relationship disturbances. Nursing students are trained to adopt a biopsychosocial approach in patient care and are expected to support grieving individuals by normalizing emotions, identifying coping strategies, and facilitating healthy grief processing. Simulation is recognized as an effective teaching method in developing communication and therapeutic skills among nursing students. This research investigates how simulation-based training can enhance students' therapeutic communication competencies when supporting individuals experiencing perinatal loss.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Completion of the theoretical course on postpartum care in the Women's Health and Diseases Nursing course.
• Successful completion of the Human Behavior and Communication course.
• Completion of training on perinatal grief and therapeutic communication skills prior to the simulation training.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical or Psychological Conditions Impacting Communication
• Incomplete Training or Lack of Pre-Simulation Education
• Inability to Participate in the Debriefing Session
• Language Barriers