Culture and innovative patient education: Role playing in real and virtual life

JFCS has developed a highly successful and innovative method of engaging a culturally different population, who also do not speak English. Attendees to the programs were actively participating, sharing their opinions and demonstrating their struggles with the issues raised.

We were able to accomplish this by adapting an already highly successful JFCS program, The JFCS Players, to the needs of Russian speakers. The programs were presented in Russian. Topics addressed included: mental health issues such as depression and isolation; appropriate use of medications; elder care home care services; intergenerational issues that become more accentuated due to cultural differences; and Advanced Directives.

The JFCS Players show people in a variety of predictable and sometimes not so predictable situations. In the process they give the audience a chance to look at themselves – their own behaviors, reactions and feelings. The Players perform a brief role play. While watching, the audience is asked to think about what they might do in this situation. After the role play the Players stay in character and the audience has an opportunity to interact with them, asking them questions and sharing observations and ideas.

At times the audience, despite the introductory explanation that the presentation is a dramatized role play, approached the “characters” after the end of the program as if the characters were really who they were representing. The audience eagerly anticipated further instalments of the presentations.
In our experience in providing direct service we find that clients who attended presentations have been more willing and receptive to discussing sensitive issues.

JFCS Players involves professionals (to coordinate and plan) and volunteers (to perform the role play). This program is easily replicated, and can be adapted (language, cultural amenities such as staging, time, food, etc) to any population.

It offers a format to present highly sensitive issues in a non-threatening and non-personal manner, yet engages people quite actively in thinking about and discussing issues that everybody faces.