PATTERNS OF INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ACROSS DIFFERENT HEALTHCARE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS APPROACH

T. Bania¹, G. Charitaki², A. Velaora³, A. Velaoras⁴, M. Giannike⁵, E. Billis¹

¹University of Patra, Department of Physiotherapy, Patra, Greece, ²University of Ioannina, Department of Primary Education, Ioannina, Greece, ³University of Piraeus, Department of Business Administration, Athens, Greece, ⁴University of Patras, Department of Medicine, Patra, Greece, ⁵University of Patras, Department of Physiotherapy, Patra, Greece

Background: Lack of understanding of people with disabilities, and of their health needs, may result in negative attitudes towards them by healthcare professionals. Negative attitudes by healthcare professionals endanger social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the patterns of interaction of undergraduate healthcare students of various disciplines towards people with disabilities, including specific aspects of their attitudes.

Methods: We assessed interaction behavior patterns of university students, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, nursing, social work and medical students, through the Greek Interaction with Disabled Person Scale (IDPS), using a two-step clustering technique. Constructs (mean scores) measured by the Greek IDPS dimensions were used in cluster analysis and these were determined by Exploratory Factor Analysis (Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Rotation) model in order to reveal the latent variables of the Greek IDPS.

Results: Four hundred-eighty undergraduate healthcare students (135 males, 21.4±5.3 years-old) were recruited. Two-step cluster analysis identified three homogenous subgroups labelled Great Discomfort (42.3%), ModerateDiscomfort (26.9%), and Mild Discomfort (30.8%) groups. The results demonstrated that the main differences in interaction attitudes between the great discomfort group and the other two groups appeared to be in feelings of sympathy, fear and susceptibility towards disability. Regarding physiotherapy students, who were the largest respondent group (39.8%), the majority of them were in the moderate discomfort group suggesting that physiotherapy students had at a certain degree positive interaction attitudes, but still their attitudes needed improvement. Results also revealed that females, being in higher semester/year of studies, having completed a clinical module with people with disabilities, and having frequent contact with people with disabilities were related to more positive attitudes towards disability. No differences in attitudes across different age groups were observed.

Conclusions: Taking into account that over 40% and 26% of the healthcare sample yielded attitudes of great and moderate discomfort, respectively, towards people with disabilities, further actions should be taken for promoting positive attitudes towards disability of undergraduate healthcare students. The main differences in interaction attitudes between the great discomfort group and the other two groups could be attributed to the less frequent contact of these students with a clinical setting (as the group predominantly constituted first year students), and probably the low level of familiarity with people with disabilities.

Implications: Further actions should be taken for promoting positive attitudes towards disability of undergraduate healthcare students such as putting more focus on management approaches for people with disabilities within undergraduate clinical modules, and perhaps utilize more experiential learning techniques (i.e. simulation experiences, interactive discussions, audiovisual means etc.).

Funding acknowledgements: No funding

Keywords:
interaction attitude
healthcare students
disabilities

Topics:
Disability & rehabilitation
Education: methods of teaching & learning
Professional issues: diversity and inclusion

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: University of Patras: Panepistemio Patron

Committee: University of Patras Ethics Committee

Ethics number: 41257