Differences in Marginality Between Nursing Students With and Without Disabilities

Background: Barriers exist in nursing education for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities often experience associated stigma and a perceived lack of support by nursing faculty and academic leaders. Method: A nonexperimental descriptive design was used to examine differences in perceived marginality between nursing students with and without disabilities (n = 7,399) in the United States. Results: Participants who identified as having a disability described more marginalization (M = 45.9, SD = 10.5) than participants who did not identify as having a disability (M = 38.3, SD = 9.2), t(927) = 19.4, p < .001. Conclusion: Findings suggest marginalization exists for students with disabilities. Academic leaders and faculty should address systems, structures, and polices that potentially pose barriers to self-reporting, matriculation, and progression of students with disabilities.