Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Students' Perceptions of Health Care for Vulnerable Populations

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the shortcomings of our health care delivery system for vulnerable populations and created a need to rethink health disparity education in medical training. We examined how the early COVID-19 pandemic impacted third-year medical students' attitudes, perceptions, and sense of responsibility regarding health care delivery for vulnerable populations.

Third-year family medicine clerkship students at a large, private medical school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania responded to a reflection assignment prompt asking how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their thoughts about health care delivery for vulnerable populations in mid-2020 (N=59). Using conventional content analysis, we identified three main themes across 24 codes.

Students recognized homeless individuals and Black, indigenous, and persons of color (BIPOC) as vulnerable populations impacted by the pandemic. Students reported causes of vulnerability that focused heavily on social determinants of health, increased risk for contracting COVID-19 infections, and difficulty adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Notable action-oriented approaches to addressing these disparities included health care reform and community health intervention.

Our findings describe an educational approach to care for vulnerable populations based on awareness, attitudes, and social action. Medical education must continue to teach students how to identify ways to mitigate disparities in order to achieve health equity.