Attitudes of undergraduate health science students towards patients with intellectual disability, substance abuse, and acute mental illness: a cross-sectional study

BMC Medical Education

Research Article

Elizabeth Molloy¹  Brett Williams²  Malcolm J Boyle²  Andrew Molloy³  Ted Brown³  Lisa McKenna⁴  Belinda Lewis⁵ 

[1] Centre for Medical Health Science Education, Monash University, Building 2, 270 Ferntree Gully Rd, 3168, Notting Hill, Victoria, Australia;Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Monash University, P.O. Box 527, 3199, Frankston, Victoria, Australia;Department of Occupational Therapy, Monash University, P.O. Box 527, 3199, Frankston, Victoria, Australia;School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, P.O. Box 527, 3199, Frankston, Victoria, Australia;School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, P.O. Box 527, 3199, Frankston, Victoria, Australia;

关键词: Substance Abuse;    Negative Attitude;    Intellectual Disability;    Substance Abuse Problem;    Clinical Placement;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6920-10-71

 received in 2010-06-09, accepted in 2010-10-21,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThere is a long history of certain medical conditions being associated with stigma, stereotypes, and negative attitudes. Research has shown that such attitudes can have a detrimental effect on patients presenting with stigmatised medical conditions and can even flow on to impact their family. The objective of this study was to measure the attitudes of undergraduate students enrolled in six different health-related courses at Monash University toward patients with intellectual disability, substance abuse, and acute mental illness.MethodsA convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in six health-related courses in first, second and third years at Monash University were surveyed. The Medical Condition Regard Scale - a valid and reliable, self-report measure of attitudes - was administered to students along with a brief demographic form. Mean scores, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyse student attitudes. Ethics approval was granted.Results548 students participated. Statistically significant differences were found between the courses (p = 0.05), year of the course (p = 0.09), and gender (p = 0.04) for the medical condition of intellectual disability. There was no statistically significant difference between the courses, year of the course, gender, and age group for substance abuse or acute mental illness conditions.ConclusionThe findings suggest that students in undergraduate health-related courses, as a group, have a strong regard for patients with intellectual disability and some regard for patients with acute mental illness, but not for patients presenting with substance abuse problems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Boyle et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010