title: Virtual patient training to improve reproductive health care for women with intellectual disabilities.
abstract: A multimedia virtual patient module, involving the case of a young woman with mild intellectual disabilities with a complaint of diffuse abdominal pain, was developed as a clinical training tool for students in health care professions. Primary objectives following use of the module included improved knowledge and reduced perception of difficulty in treating women's health patients with intellectual disabilities. The module was developed using an iterative, collaborative process of a core development team that included medical professionals, multimedia specialists, the parent of a child with intellectual disability, and a disability advocate. Over the course of the module, students were required to identify appropriate and effective clinician-patient interactions in addition to relevant medical and developmental concerns for this patient population. Pilot data from a sample of nursing, physician assistant, and medical students suggest that the module is an effective tool for both improving students' knowledge and reducing their perception of difficulty in providing care to women's health patients with intellectual disabilities.
authors.affiliation: Human Development Institute, 8 Mineral Industries Bldg., University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA. saraeboyd@mac.com
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Carla L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Harold L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kleinert
authors.forename: Marlene B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Huff
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lock
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Clevenger
authors.forename: Nathania A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Dyke
authors.forename: Tara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Clark