How are medical students learning to care for patients with intellectual disabilities? A scoping review

Individuals with intellectual disabilities experience barriers to quality healthcare. To reduce this disparity, equipping medical trainees with the knowledge and skills required for treating this patient population is critical. Our aim is to describe the breadth of instructional interventions and identify gaps in intellectual disability medical education curricula.

Using scoping review methods, the intellectual disability programmes described in 27 articles were evaluated and their coverage of the six core competencies on disability for health care education was examined.

The most frequently represented core competencies were disability conceptual frameworks, professionalism and communication, and clinical assessment, which were, in most programmes, fulfilled by activities involving individuals with intellectual disabilities. Uneven competency coverage warrants consideration.

Considerable variabilities exist in medical school curricula on intellectual disabilities. Using core competencies on disability for health care education for curricular design and evaluation would provide a coherent training experience in this important area.