Nurse Educator Attitudes Toward People With Disabilities

AIM As educators strongly influence the attitudes of their students, the purpose of this study as to determine nurse educator attitudes toward people with disabilities. BACKGROUND Inadequate education of health professionals is a known barrier to care for people with disability. Continuing calls for improved education of health professionals compel an assessment of nurse educator attitudes. METHOD This was a cross-sectional, correlational web-based survey of nurse educators (n = 126). Nurse educator attitudes were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS Nurse educators held discriminatory attitudes toward people with disabilities, though most preferred a biopsychosocial model of disability. Forty-four percent lacked knowledge of disability-related aims, objectives, or outcomes within the curriculum. CONCLUSION To advance equity in health care, nurse educators must confront personal bias and teach competent care of people with disabilities.