PCR008: Are Medical Students Adequately Trained to Care for Persons with Disabilities?

Brianna Marzolf, DO; Diane Harper, MD, MPH, MS; Melissa Plegue, MA; Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, MD, MS

Abstract

Context: Insufficient medical education/training results in physicians being un- or under- prepared to provide care for people with disabilities (PWD). This contributes to the substantial health disparities that are evident in this population. Objective: Determine if medical training provides students with the knowledge necessary to provide high quality, comprehensive healthcare for PWD in future practice. Study Design: Survey. Dataset: STFM CERA Medical Student Survey. 53 total questions, 10 of which specifically addressed disability health training in medical school. The “Core Competencies on Disability for Healthcare Education” were used as the gold standard to develop the 10 questions. The “Core Competencies” were developed in 2019 by the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education, a collaboration of 152 people with disabilities, health educators and health care providers, and established the baseline expertise required to provide quality healthcare for PWD. Population Studied: 5,000 1st-4th year students currently enrolled in U.S. Osteopathic or Allopathic medical schools and members of the AAFP. Outcome Measure: Medical students who were provided any type of learning experience regarding PWD felt approximately 30%-40% more prepared to provide healthcare for PWD in their future practice compared to medical students whose curriculum was missing disability health education (p<0.001 to 0.004). Results: 146 (2.94%) surveys were returned, limiting the power of this study, however the data is statistically significant. PWD constitute ~25% of the population, yet 66.4% of medical students did not participate in any type of PWD patient simulation experience. Of the students who had simulation encounters with PWD, 47.6% reported learning how to make accommodations to complete a physical exam appropriately for PWD vs only 22.9% of those without simulation encounters (p= 0.005). 59.5% of students who had simulation encounters reported feeling prepared to care for PWD in future practice vs 24.4% of those without simulation encounters (p <0.001). Overall, 97% of students responded they need to learn more in order to provide high quality, comprehensive healthcare for PWD. Conclusions: Exposure to disability health curriculum in medical school better prepares students to care for PWD in future practice. The Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education should be universally included in medical school curriculum.
Leave a Comment
Jack Westfall
jwestfall@aafp.org 11/19/2021

Great poster and abstract. Thanks

Dennis Baumgardner, MD
11/19/2021

Thank you for exploring this important topic!

Jessica Kram
11/20/2021

Very important topic. I hope more trainings become available among programs to improve comfortability.

Christelle
elkhouch@med.umich.edu 11/21/2021

Great topic, It should indeed be part of the curriculum.

Gillian Bartlett
gillian.bartlett@health.missouri.edu 11/22/2021

Wow - this is such an important deficit you have identified. I hope you are able to use this to advocate for changes in medical curricula.

Ann Macaulay
ann.macaulay@mcgill.ca 11/23/2021

Great research. Key findings. Hope results will result in development of Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education

Andy Pasternak
avpiv711@sbcglobal.net 11/26/2021

While this is a critical topic, how does this compare to other areas where students feel like they need more education? Seems like even as a PGY 25, I could use more education in every area!

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