Changing Nursing Students' Attitudes Towards the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled Patient Population: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Nursing

Background

      In 2006, the CDC identified that 9 out of every 1000 8-year-old children had mental retardation.  In 2007, the CDC identified 7 to 8 million Americans, 3% of general population, as having an intellectual disability.  People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) are at risk for increased health problems.  In 2012, 80% of people with ID/DD utilize Medicaid for primary insurance.

     Communication difficulties, developmental and behavioral issues, and poor attitudes between ID/DD patients and providers can lead to poorly managed care. Research indicates that nurses and physicians experience a lack of knowledge regarding the ID/DD patient, causing them to be uncomfortable in treating the ID/DD patient and possibly hinder care.

Purpose

     Purpose of this literature review is to examine nurses’ attitudes and comfort levels towards the ID/DD patient; its impact on quality of healthcare given, and to increase the knowledge base regarding nurses’ attitudes and the ID/DD patient population.

Literature Review Findings

      Literature review findings indicate that nurses feel they’ve had a lack of knowledge and exposure regarding the ID/DD patient.  Communication barriers can affect the quality and deliverance of nursing care. Literature was acquired through the database of EbscoHost, Cinahl, Lippincott Nursing Center, and PubMed using the keywords intellectual disability, developmental disability, mental retardation, nurse advocacy, nurse attitudes, and healthcare access.

Proposed Research

     A pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design, using the Attitudes towards Disabled Persons scale (Yuker et al., 1960, 1986) to determine if nursing students’ attitudes change after exposure to the ID/DD patient population in the clinical setting.

Nursing Implications

     Information gained by research and evidence based practice will enable the RN to gain insight and increased comfort levels with the ID/DD patient.  This improved understanding of the ID/DD patient will allow the nurse to provide quality medical care and promote positive outcomes.