Presentation Abstract

A Comparison of Change in Medical Students' Attitudes Toward AIDS Patients and Non-AIDS Patients. Veach, Tracy L.1, Brunner, RL2, Larson, TA.2. University of Nevada School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences1 and Pediatrics2 Reno, NV

Objective: The current study was undertaken in recognition of the need to examine relevant attitudes of medical students toward individuals with AIDS. Negative attitudes towards certain patient populations are a continuing problem in health professional education. Learning as well as clinical care have been shown to be adversely affected by negative attitudes. With a growing impact of HIV/AIDS and comorbid disorders (e.g. alcohol and drug use) on resources there is a need to be concerned with the attitudes of health professionals.

Methods: The primary question was whether presentation of emotional and behavioral issues in AIDS would modify student's attitudes. Three consecutive classes of second year medical students (N=112) completed the Clinical Attitude Scale (CAS), which assesses general and professional attitudes toward specified types of patients. The CAS was administered as part of a psychiatry course at the beginning of the term (PRE) and again at its conclusion (POST). During the course, presentations were made by faculty about emotional and behavioral issues for each of the cases targeted on the CAS (alcohol dependent, depressed, normal pregnancy, AIDS).

Results: Paired t-tests (PRE and POST) showed significant improvements in student's CAS scores toward the alcohol dependent (9 of 10 dimensions) and toward the depressed patient cases (5 of 10 dimensions). This is contrasted with the fact that significant shifts in attitude from PRE to POST toward the AIDS patient case did not occur on any dimensions despite the fact that the AIDS PRE scores were similar to those for the depressed and the alcohol dependent cases. Attitudes toward the normal pregnancy case were uniformly high at the start and did not shift from PRE to POST possibly due to a ceiling effect.

Conclusions: It is hypothesized that attitudes toward AIDS patients are more fixed than for other conditions, perhaps because of general societal attitudes. A second study is now being analyzed and will also be presented. It will test the idea that greater student involvement and more intensive and realistic case presentations will promote positive changes in medical students' attitudes toward AIDS patients.

Tracy L. Veach, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 411 W. 2nd St., Reno, NV, USA, 89503. Telephone:775.784.4917, Fax:775.784.6096. email: tlveach@med.unr.edu.

Back to Volume 1, Issue 18

Back to SPNS/Fax Directory