From the "backburner" to the forefront: Qualitative analysis of medical and physician assistant students' reflections on Crip Camp.

BACKGROUND

Disability-focused health professions education must evolve to portray the lives of disabled patients, lived experiences of ableism, and disability history more accurately and authentically. Methods of education that utilize first-person perspectives of disabled people to deliver authentic representations are limited in the current literature.

OBJECTIVE

To explore first-year medical and physician assistant students' reflections on healthcare access, healthcare providers' roles, and barriers to health equity for patients with disabilities after watching an exemplar, first-person perspective documentary titled Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.

METHODS

A three-part, student-created disability curriculum "Introduction to Disability and Anti-Ableist Healthcare" was offered as an elective for first-year medical students during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years. The disability curriculum was required for first-year physician assistant students during the 2023-2024 academic year. One curricular component was watching Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution and completing a 500-750-word reflective essay. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to organize essay responses.

RESULTS

Seven major themes emerged in the students' essays highlighting the importance of disability-focused education, the necessity of understanding the historical context and mistreatment of people with disabilities, limitations of health policies and health systems, the role of trainees and providers, and intersectionality. Themes were aligned with the socioecological model and disability consciousness to reflect healthcare delivery and education benefit, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution was an effective educational intervention to provide and apply knowledge in reflecting on healthcare experiences of people with disabilities. The themes have implications for health professions education and health care delivery.