Inclusive Training for Future Health Care Providers Regarding Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities suffer from a multitude of health disparities, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, and mental health problems. The prevalence of these morbidities and poor outcomes have been correlated to impaired access to care and poor-quality management. The project site partners created an inclusive training program to improve care for this population. However, future providers were not among the targeted stakeholders. This quality improvement project involved the creation of an inclusive training program for the prospective providers, Doctor of Nursing Practice students, to improve outcomes and decrease health disparities among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The training module was presented as a video link and was distributed to the students. The students completed a pre-survey and a post-survey, which evaluated knowledge and content questions and the effectiveness of the training. Survey results revealed that very few individuals had previous training in care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, although many had cared for people within this population. The training proved to be effective, with analysis of the data indicating that participants were more comfortable caring for individuals within this population and had increased their foundation of knowledge. The pool of participants was relatively small, 19 students; however, continuing this project on a larger scale would greatly benefit individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.