Health Equity (Jun 2018)

The Beyond the Books Program: Improving Medical Student Attitudes Toward the Underserved

  • Aaron M. Briggs,
  • Stephen Y. Wang,
  • Subasish Bhowmik,
  • Jacob Wasag,
  • Roshini C. Pinto-Powell

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1089/HEQ.2018.0015
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 1
pp. 98 – 102

Abstract

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Purpose: To determine the impact of the Beyond the Books (BTB) program, a short-term pre-clinical intervention, on medical student attitudes toward the underserved (MSATU). Methods: BTB was evaluated through a prospective cohort study using the validated MSATU questionnaire. Results: There were no significant MSATU total score differences between BTB students (n=13) and student controls (n=29) at the beginning of the program. At the program's conclusion, BTB participant MSATU total scores were significantly higher than those of controls (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although limited by selection methods, our MSATU data support the capability of short-term pre-clinical interventions to significantly improve medical student attitudes toward underserved communities.

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