Effects of an educational intervention on students' attitudes toward the disabled

The purposes of this study were to determine if the attitudes of nursing students toward the disabled would improve following participation in a one-day educational conference on care of the physically disabled and to identify variables influencing these attitudes. Nursing students completed Yuker and Block's Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP) (1986) prior to and one month following the conference. T test indicated that subjects had significantly higher ATDP scores following the rehabilitation conference (p = < .0001). Subjects with prior work experience with the disabled had significantly higher scores on the ATDP, indicating more positive attitudes toward the disabled.