College Students’ Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, and Attitudes about Disability

Abstract

Background: People with disabilities (PWD) are at risk for poor health due, in part, to limitedaccess to health-related services including access to relevant health promotion and education informationand programming. Research indicates that inadequate knowledge, poor attitudes, and low self-efficacyamong health professionals limits their ability to effectively work with this population. Purpose: This studyassessed knowledge and attitudes about disabilities and identified factors that impact self-efficacy towardPWD among college students enrolled in health promotion and education courses at a large Midwesternuniversity. Methods: Data from a prior unpublished pilot survey study was utilized. The pilot assesseddisability-related knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, self-efficacy, and intentions among 146 college studentsenrolled in health education courses. Results: Multivariate analyses revealed that self-efficacy was influ-enced by attitudes but not by knowledge, sex, education level, major, or experience with disability. Morespecifically, students who had more positive attitudes toward PWD reported feeling significantly moreconfident in performing disability-related activities than students who had negative attitudes towardPWD. Discussion: Study findings and the recommendations provided should be considered when creatingcurricula and professional development opportunities to improve disability awareness and competenceamong health educators.