ATTITUDES OF OPTOMETRY STUDENTS TOWARD THE DISABLED AND THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

摘要

The purposes of this research were to determine if (1) The attitudes of optometry students could be changed with structured experimental treatments; (2) Any attitude changes that did occur could be maintained over a short period of time; (3) Differential treatment effects would occur due to different types of treatments.;Results of this study showed that while descriptive changes in attitude scores were present, the changes were not statistically significant at an acceptable probability level. The implications for the present optometric curriculum of the participating school were discussed. The implementation of some type of intervention or coursework which addresses the attitudes of students toward their handicapped patients may have an effect on the students' patient care skills. Furthermore, this research indicated that while it may be possible to change attitude scores in a descriptive manner, the one-time treatments were not sufficient to maintain these changes over time.;It was suggested that future research efforts be directed toward additional attitude change strategies, the maintenance of attitudes and further study of the relationship between actual behavior and self-report questionnaires. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).;Four groups of second and third year optometry students from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry participated in this research with each group receiving a different experimental treatment. Group A received an audio-visual presentation of two films describing visual impairment and its impact on a child's educational services and on adults' lifestyles. Group B served as the control group. Group C observed a panel discussion by two visually impaired consumers who were identified as peers of the optometry students. Group D received both the audio-visual and panel discussion treatments. All subjects were pretested, posttested immediately after the treatment and posttested a second time six weeks after the treatment. The tests used were the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (Yuker, Block & Young, 1960) and the Beliefs About Blindness Scale (Ehmer & Needham, 1979).