Immediate and follow-up effects of a brief disability curriculum on disability knowledge and attitudes of PM&R residents: a comparison group trial.

Background: Humanistic attitudes are essential in physicians and therefore supporting them is a key component in graduate medical education (GME). The importance of a physician's attitude toward people with disability is especially relevant within the rehabilitation discipline, as prevailing attitudes and misconceptions can be potential barriers to successful diagnosis and treatment. Aim: This study was designed to examine the relationship between participation in a brief disability sensitivity training and knowledge of disability and attitudes of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residents toward people with disability. Methods: A daylong training for residents consisted of lectures and a panel presentation that covered (1) disability facts, (2) personal stories of people with disabilities, and (3) medical evaluation of disability. The presentations were followed by a simulation experience where resident pairs (one assigned to a wheel chair, the other a "caretaker") performed various tasks. This was followed by a group discussion of their experience. Three instruments were administered prior to the training: (1) a brief demographic questionnaire, (2) 30 multiple choice questions measuring various aspects of knowledge about disability, and (3) the Scale of Attitudes toward Disabled Persons, Form R (SADP). After the training experience, the knowledge instrument and the SADP were re-administered along with a series of items to measure various aspects of students' satisfaction with the training. The three instruments described were re-administered 3 months post-training. Results: There was significant immediate gain in both the disability knowledge and the attitude scores among trainees as compared to a control group of physiatry residents in standard medical training. Knowledge gains of the disability sensitivity training group did not persist, but attitude toward disability gains remained at the 3 months follow up. Conclusion: After a brief curriculum in disability knowledge and sensitivity for PM&R physicians in training, there was a short-term improvement in disability knowledge and an improvement in disability attitudes sustained at 3 months.