Effects of a Brief Curricular Intervention on Medical Students' Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities in Healthcare Settings.

Publication/Presentation Date

12-1-2016

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the effects of a brief curricular intervention on medical students' attitudes toward physical disability in healthcare settings. Students participated in a focused curriculum about people with disabilities (PWDs), which included 2.5 hours of lectures, panel discussions, and video presentations. After the curricular sessions, students were surveyed (n = 237), and their attitudes toward PWDs in healthcare settings were compared with those of students who did not undergo the intervention (n = 251) using the Disability Attitudes in Health Care (DAHC) scale. Thematic analysis of the students' comments regarding the session was performed to supplement the DAHC scale. The intervention group responded with significantly more positive attitudes on 6 of the 17 items on the DAHC scale, and multiple linear regression analysis confirmed the independent effect of the curriculum on higher DAHC scale scores. Female students had more positive attitudes on the survey than did male students, although the effect of the curriculum was independent of gender. Previous experiences with PWDs did not correlate to higher attitude scores. These results suggest that a brief curricular intervention on disability can engender more positive attitudes in medical students toward PWDs.

Volume

95

Issue

12

First Page

939

Last Page

945

ISSN

1537-7385

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

27175557

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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