Effects of a refugee elective on medical student perceptions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are growing numbers of refugees throughout the world. Refugee health is a relatively unstudied and rarely taught component of medical education. In response to this need, a Refugee Health Elective was begun. Medical student perceptions toward cultural aspects of medicine and refugee health before and after participation in the elective were measured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Preliminary questionnaires were given to all preclinical students at the academic year commencement with follow-up questionnaires at the refugee elective's conclusion. Both questionnaires examined students' comfort in interacting with patients and familiarity with refugee medical issues, alternative medical practices, and social hindrances to medical care. The preliminary answers served as a control and follow-up questionnaire data were separated into participant/non-participant categories. All preclinical medical students at two Midwestern medical schools were provided the opportunity to participate in the Refugee Health Elective and surveys. The 3 data groups were compared using unadjusted and adjusted analysis techniques with the Kruskall-Wallis, Bonferroni and ANCOVA adjustment. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>408 and 403 students filled out the preliminary and follow-up questionnaires, respectfully, 42 of whom participated in the elective. Students considering themselves minorities or multilingual were more likely to participate. Elective participants were more likely to be able to recognize the medical/mental health issues common to refugees, to feel comfortable interacting with foreign-born patients, and to identify cultural differences in understanding medical/mental health conditions, after adjusting for minority or multilingual status.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As medical schools integrate a more multicultural curriculum, a Refugee Health Elective for preclinical students can enhance awareness and promote change in attitude toward medical/mental health issues common to refugees. This elective format offers tangible and effective avenues for these topics to be addressed.</p

An analysis of an urban school district's general education intervention to reduce overrepresentation of minority students in special education

Minority students are overrepresented in special education in many urban school districts across the United States. The purpose of this study was to analyze the results of the implementation of policies and training related to the use of a problem solving general education intervention model in an urban school system. Disproportionate representation is problematic if the programming is stigmatizing or ineffective, or if the process of identification is not applied equally to different groups of students (NRC, 1982). The Metropolitan School District of Pike Township administrators elected to begin a general education intervention initiative to address overrepresentation of minority students in special education within the school district. The initiative included all nine of the elementary schools in the district. It included training teams in each school in the use of a problem solving process as a key component to the general education intervention team. The results of this study will be used to make further recommendations regarding the school district's general education intervention initiative.Thesis (D. Ed.)Department of Special Educatio