Improvements in Students' Attitudes Toward People With Disabilities With or Without Semi-Structured Community-Based Interactions. Issue 3 (September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jimenez, Liliana; Pechak, Celia; Garrand, Kiersten
• Is Part Of: Journal of physical therapy education. Volume 33:Issue 3(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Subjects: Disability competence -- Physical therapist education -- Attitudes; Physical therapy -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Physical therapy -- Study and teaching; Physical Therapy (Specialty) -- education -- Periodicals; Periodicals; Fulltext; Internet Resources; Periodicals; 615.82071
• DOI: 10.1097/JTE.0000000000000102
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0899-1855

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction: Repeated interactions with people with disabilities (PWD) in a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program could improve students' attitudes toward PWD. This study's purposes were to explore if: 1) a baseline first-year DPT curriculum improved DPT students' attitudes toward PWD; 2) an enhanced first-year DPT curriculum improved DPT students' attitudes toward PWD; and 3) there was a difference between the baseline and the enhanced DPT curriculum related to improving DPT students' attitudes toward PWD. Methods: Sixty-four students from 2 DPT cohorts participated in this study. The Attitudes Toward Disabled People (ATDP-A) and Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) were used. The authors compared the scores of 2 DPT cohorts: 1) a baseline group; and 2) an enhanced curriculum group that had repeated community-based interactions with PWD. Results: The baseline group only had improved attitudes according to the MAS ( P = .02), whereas the enhanced group demonstrated improvements with bothATDP-A ( P = .01) and MAS ( P = .01). No significant difference in scores on the ATDP-A ( P = .11) and MAS ( P = .38) between the baseline and the enhanced curriculum cohort was found. Discussion and Conclusion: Regardless of being exposed to the baseline or the enhanced curriculum, DPT students' attitudes toward PWD improved. The baseline group showed improvements according to 1 scale, whereas the enhanced group demonstrated improvements with both scales. Perhaps longer or more frequent interactions with PWD may have produced a difference between the baseline and enhanced groups. Although future research is necessary, this study offers ideas on how to incorporate community-based interactions with PWD in a DPT curriculum. Abstract : Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text.