Teaching Social Determinants of Health Through an Unfolding Case Study

The impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) was developed to educate nursing students through the use of an unfolding case study. PROBLEM: SDOH and population health are critical components of prelicensure nursing education. Unfolding case studies are a strategy to develop critical thinking and teach SDOH to nursing students. APPROACH: A model was used to develop the case study including a community assessment, which follows a male veteran and family through life events. Implementation of the unfolding case study took place over 3 consecutive semesters in a community health nursing course. OUTCOMES: This educational activity achieved standardized examination scores, which are intended to assess student preparedness for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), above the national averages. Student participation was above 90%. CONCLUSION: Unfolding case studies can present realistic scenarios that are useful to teach critical thinking. As the Next Generation NCLEX moves to scenario-based testing, unfolding case studies are a teaching strategy to prepare students.