A curriculum focused on informed empathy improves attitudes toward persons with disabilities
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A curriculum focused on informed empathy improves attitudes toward persons with disabilities Sonya R. Miller
Published online: 6 March 2013 The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Empathy is an important component of the provider-patient relationship. In the United States one in five persons has a disability. Persons with disabilities perceive gaps in health care providers’ understanding of their health care preferences and needs. The purpose of this study was to use valid and reliable assessment methods to investigate the association between empathy and attitudes toward persons with disabilities and advocacy. An educational module was developed to enhance health care students’ capacity for informed empathy. Pre- and post-assessment measures included the Attitude toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP), the Attitudes toward Patient Advocacy Microsocial scale (AMIA) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). ATDP (t(94) = -5.95, p = .000) and AMIA (t(92) = -5.99, p = .000) scores increased significantly after the education module. Correlations between the pre- or post-module ATDP or AMIA scores and the IRI scores were not significant. Empathy in general may not be sufficient to ensure optimal attitudes toward persons with disabilities or advocacy in pre-health care professionals. However, a curriculum based on informed empathy and focused on the experiences of persons with disabilities can result in more positive attitudes toward and advocacy for people with disabilities. Keywords Advocacy Attitudes toward persons with disabilities Disability Education Empathy
S. R. Miller (&) Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan Medical School, 325 E. Eisenhower Parkway, 2nd Floor, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA email: [email protected] S. R. Miller Medical Education, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Empathy and attitudes toward disabilities
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Introduction The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the prevalence of disability to be 20 % [1]. Considering the prevalence of disability in the United States increased between 2002 and 2005 and increases as individuals age [1, 2], health care providers are likely to care for patients with disabilities and therefore can benefit from an increased awareness of the needs of their patients with disabilities. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) identifies patient centredness as a core component of quality health care, and defines patient centredness as health care that establishes a partnership between practitioners, patients, and their families to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences [3]. Patient-centred care is supported by good provider-patient communication so that patients’ needs and wants are understood and addressed [4]. However, having a disability has been found to negatively affect provider-patient communication [5–7]. Patients with disabilities report faulty communication, and express the need for better communication wit
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