USF-LVHN SELECT
ADEPT-CARE: A pilot, student-led initiative to improve care for persons with disabilities via a novel teaching tool.
Publication/Presentation Date
3-24-2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Over one-quarter of United States adults live with a disability. Despite persistent ableism, defined as discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities, in healthcare, disability-focused training remains largely absent from medical education.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to pilot and evaluate a novel teaching mnemonic (ADEPT-CARE) for performing a comprehensive history and physical exam for disabled patients.
METHODS: In Spring 2022, first-year medical students at a suburban Mid-Atlantic institution could electively participate in a learning module that included ADEPT-CARE. Surveys were administered to students before and following exposure to the ADEPT-CARE protocol.
RESULTS: Of 142 eligible students, 33 and 21 completed the pre- and post-surveys, respectively. The ADEPT-CARE protocol made sense to 95.2% of students. All (100%) students reported that they will use the ADEPT-CARE protocol in the assessment of patients with disabilities. Students were more likely to agree or strongly agree that they had a consistent approach or strategy in mind when assessing a patient with a disability after exposure to ADEPT-CARE (85.7% vs. 39.4%, respectively, p = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference in students' perceived confidence in their ability to assess a patient with a disability after curriculum completion compared to before (85.7% vs. 81.8%, respectively, p = 1.0).
CONCLUSIONS: The ADEPT-CARE protocol has the potential to be an effective teaching tool by providing a framework to equitably care for disabled patients. Future research should assess whether students' self-reported increased confidence and intention to utilize ADEPT-CARE translates into the clinical setting.
First Page
101462
Last Page
101462
ISSN
1876-7583
Published In/Presented At
Smeltz, L., Carpenter, S., Benedetto, L., Newcomb, N., Rubenstein, D., King, T., Lunsford, C., & DeWaters, A. L. (2023). ADEPT-CARE: A pilot, student-led initiative to improve care for persons with disabilities via a novel teaching tool. Disability and health journal, 101462. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2023.101462
Disciplines
Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
37061363
Department(s)
USF-LVHN SELECT Program, USF-LVHN SELECT Program Students
Document Type
Article