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Challenges Faced by Students and Staff in Caring for Patients With Disabilities: A Secondary Pooled Prevalence
Lydia Smeltz1,2, Ami DeWaters2
1University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
|June 24, 2026
Summary
Healthcare professionals and students find disability-specific knowledge and resource awareness challenging when caring for patients with disabilities. Addressing these knowledge gaps is crucial for improving disability health education and patient care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Disability Studies
- Healthcare Professional Development
Background:
- Medical education increasingly includes disability health, yet curriculum priorities are unclear.
- Understanding perceived difficulties is essential for effective training in disability care.
- Previous studies surveyed healthcare professionals and students on challenges in caring for patients with disabilities (PWD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify specific areas of difficulty encountered by healthcare professionals and students when caring for PWD.
- To inform curriculum development by highlighting key knowledge and skill deficits in disability health education.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of survey data from preclinical medical and physician assistant students (n=142) and healthcare/patient-facing staff (n=1609) at an academic medical center.
- Responses regarding perceived difficulties in caring for PWD were pooled and analyzed separately for students and staff.
- Findings were mapped to the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education's Core Competencies.
Main Results:
- Students reported highest difficulties in disability-specific knowledge (63.4%), knowledge of programs/resources (62.7%), and healthcare accessibility (62.7%).
- Staff reported highest difficulties in knowledge of programs/resources (42.5%), disability-specific knowledge (34.1%), and laws and policies (33.7%).
- This study is the first to report on these specific perceived areas of difficulty in caring for PWD.
Conclusions:
- Both students and staff experience significant challenges in disability health education, particularly regarding specific knowledge and resource awareness.
- Findings highlight the need for targeted curriculum development to address identified gaps in healthcare professional training for disability care.
- Aligning educational content with established core competencies can enhance the quality of care for patients with disabilities.
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