Attitudes towards people with disabilities: promoting and measuring change in medical students

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of Disability Awareness training on medical school students. Fifth Year students at Trinity College Medical School, Dublin were administered the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDPS) before and after undergoing a Disability Awareness training module. The module was experiential, requiring the students to perform a 12-hour role play in which they lived their lives as if they had a physical disability (mobility impairment, blindness, deafness), Subsequent group discussions of their experiences were facilitated by a physically disabled physician, who co-ordinated the entire programme, Comparison of pre- and posttraining ATDPS scores indicated a significant improvement in attitudes for the sample, Disability awareness training for medical students appears to improve attitudes toward people with disabilities. Such improvements should enhance communication with disabled patients.