A Systematic Review of Intellectual and Developmental Disability Curriculum in International Pre-Graduate Health Professional Education

Abstract

Background Despite the increasing global population of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), this population remains especially vulnerable to health disparities through several factors such as a lack of access to sufficient medical care and poor determinants of health. To add, numerous studies have shown that healthcare professionals are still insufficiently prepared to support this population of patients. This review synthesizes the literature on current pre-graduate IDD training programs across healthcare professions with the goal of informing the creation of evidence-based curricula. Methods Four major databases were searched for current pre-graduate IDD training interventions for healthcare professionals. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis flow diagram and the Best Evidence Medical Educations systematic review guide were used to frame our collection and analysis. Results Of the 6236 studies screened, 24 studies were identified, with most studies involving medical students (50%). Of note, 38% of studies were interprofessional. Most interventions utilized multiple pedagogical methods with a majority including clinical experiences (83%) followed by theoretical teaching (50%). Kirkpatrick outcomes showed 13% were level 0, 9% were level 1, 17% were level 2, 33% were level 2B, 25% were level 3, 4% were level 4A, and none were level 4B. Conclusions There is a paucity of formally evaluated studies in pre-graduate health professional IDD education. As well, there are a lack of longitudinal learning opportunities and integration into formal curriculum. Strengths identified were the use of multimodal approaches to teaching, including interprofessional approaches to optimize team competencies.

Health professionals' education related to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A scoping review

“…Literature on intellectual and developmental disability‐focused education for healthcare professionals is reviewed previously; however, previous reviews focused on education around disability in general (Rotenberg et al, 2022), addressing specific age groups such as paediatrics (Ceglio et al, 2019), and specific providers such as physicians (Adirim et al, 2021; Ceglio et al, 2019). A previous integrative review had discussion of the shift to interprofessional education and team competencies as contexts in which health professional education has developed (Vi et al, 2023). None addressed education of healthcare professionals in the contexts of overall workforce needs or the model of care or intersectionality or the participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the development and evaluation of programs.…”