2025 Scholars' Research Symposium Abstract: Influence of Disability Education, Panel Discussion on Comfort and Knowledge of Healthcare Providers in South Dakota.

Abstract

Introduction: It is estimated that 27.2% of adults in the United States and 23.8% of people in South Dakota have a disability of some kind. Though individuals with disabilities are now recognized as an underserved population in healthcare, many disparities persist, infringing on the health of these individuals. A commonly cited barrier to receiving high quality care is provider misconceptions, and fallacies of life with disability. A minority of US medical schools have a specific disability curriculum. The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (USDSSOM) does not currently have specific training on disability beyond the medical and biological concepts. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a two-session course designed to provide didactic information about caring for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) and a hands-on panel discussion with patients with IDD and their caregivers.

Methods: Participants were recruited from USD-SSOM to participate in a study including a two-session course to discuss guidelines for caring for patients with disabilities and providing exposure to the disability experience using a panel discussion. Participants were asked to complete a survey before and after each meeting. The survey contained open-ended questions and a series of 13 statements using a Likert scale for rating from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." The ratings of the statements were converted to numerical values for analysis. The data were analyzed using a paired samples t-test to assess if there was a significant change in responses. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. The data from the first and second meetings were analyzed separately.

Outcomes: Study participants (N=35) were primarily white medical students between the ages of 23 and 29, and a majority of responders endorsed fewer than five hours of formal training on caring for individuals with IDD. For both meetings participants had statistically significant changes in their responses to 11 of 13 survey statements. The first meeting, containing didactic education focused on caring for patients with IDD, showed the most difference in response to statements regarding capability of adapting communication and approach during a visit with a patient with IDD, with mean difference of 1.000. The second meeting, a 90-minute panel discussion led by the researchers with individuals with IDD and a caregiver, showed a mean difference of 1.667 in response to the statement about "feeling capable of providing the same level of care to a patient regardless of disability status."

Conclusions: Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities face a multitude of health disparities that can be addressed, in part, by further training of medical professionals. This study demonstrated that medical students are interested in this topic. It further demonstrated that it is feasible to provide low cost, low resource programs that lead to the advancement of knowledge and competencies needed to improve care for persons with disabilities.