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Medical students' attitudes toward pregnant women with substance use disorders.

Ramirez-Cacho WA, Strickland L, Beraun C, Meng C, Rayburn WF

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether medical students' attendance at a clinic designed for pregnant substance users would yield changes in their attitudes toward the special needs of this population. STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study involved 104 consecutive third-year students rotating on our obstetrics-gynecology clerkship. Students were assigned to attend either a half day prenatal clinic designed specifically for women with substance use disorders during the first 4 weeks (study group) or during the second 4 weeks (control group). Each answered a confidential 24-question survey (using a 5-point scale from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree"), dealing with comfort levels and attitudes, at the beginning and midway points of the 8-week clerkship. Student t tests were used for comparisons of averaged scores. RESULTS: At the beginning of the clerkship, no differences were found between the study (n = 52) and control groups (n = 52) in their responses to the survey. Regardless of gender, students who attended the clinic reported they became more comfortable in talking with patients about their substance use (P < .001) and more nonjudgmental in treating these patients (P < .02). Compared with before the clerkship, the control group became less comfortable in talking with these patients about their habits (P < .01), less aware about the prevalence of substance abuse during pregnancy (P < .02), and less aware about the efficacy of counselors (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Medical students became more comfortable and better informed about pregnant women with substance use disorders after attending a clinic dedicated toward this population's special needs.

Published 22 January 2007 in Am J Obstet Gynecol, 196(1): 86.e1-5.
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