ADEPT-CARE: A pilot, student-led initiative to improve care for persons with disabilities via a novel teaching tool.
Lydia Smeltz, Sandra Carpenter, Lauren Benedetto and 5 others
PMID 37061363WHAT IT FOUND
Medical students exposed to a disability-focused teaching tool were more likely to have a consistent strategy for assessing disabled patients.
However, their self-reported confidence in providing equal quality of care did not significantly improve, and the study did not test actual clinical skills.
Key findings
01Students were significantly more likely to report having a consistent approach or strategy for assessing patients with disabilities after completing the curriculum.
02There was no significant difference in students' confidence in their ability to assess a patient with a disability or to provide the same quality of care to disabled and non-disabled patients.
03All participants reported an intention to use the ADEPT-CARE protocol in future assessments and believed it would help them take better care of patients with disabilities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single medical school with a small sample size, limiting generalizability. The curriculum was didactic and asynchronous, with no practice with standardized patients or direct assessment of clinical skills. Attrition was high, with only 16 of 33 pre-survey respondents having matched post-survey data. Self-reported confidence and intention to use the tool do not necessarily translate to actual clinical behavior or improved patient outcomes. Selection bias is possible, though the authors note participation may have been driven by unmet 'flex hour' requirements rather than pre-existing interest in disability.
Declared interests
Research support was provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and non-U.S. government sources. No specific commercial conflicts of interest or author disclosures were detailed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the students' reported intention to use the ADEPT-CARE protocol as evidence that it improves actual clinical care or patient outcomes. The study assessed only self-perceptions and did not measure clinical performance or patient experiences.