562 - Education for CHANGE: Pediatric Resident Learning Outcomes Associated with a Longitudinal Social Justice Curriculum

Saturday, April 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 562
Publication Number: 562.23

BreAnna Portale, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Dan Sklansky, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Vivek Balasubramaniam, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Adam S. Bauer, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, MADISON, WI, United States; Mary Ehlenbach, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Heidi M. Kloster, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, McFarland, WI, United States; Cathy Lee-Miller, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Santhi Logel, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States; Kelly N. McGregory, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI, United States; Danielle Rodgers, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Middleton, WI, United States; Samantha Williams Al-Kharusy, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Emily Ruedinger, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States

Presenting Author(s)

BreAnna Portale, BS (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Background:
Oppressed groups in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality. Pediatric resident physicians should build knowledge, skills, and confidence to address these disparities.

Objective:
To assess whether a longitudinal social justice curriculum, Education for CHANGE, impacts pediatric residents across four domains: (1) confidence addressing social justice issues, (2) sense of personal responsibility, (3) intention to engage in social justice activities, (4) cultural perceptions.

Design/Methods:
Residents engaged in Education for CHANGE, an innovative, longitudinal, multi-modality 30-hour social justice curriculum focusing on racism as an archetype, over the 2021-2022 academic year. Topics included (not limited to): systems of power and oppression, bias, microaggressions, history of racism, and taking action. Residents completed a post-then-retrospective-pre-test assessing the four domains. This study design minimizes response-shift bias. Participants rate their skill and confidence after the intervention (post-test), then retrospectively rate their preintervention skill (retrospective pretest). The survey was adapted from previously utilized and validated tools. Results were analyzed using a paired t-test.

Results:
Twenty-six of 46 (57%) residents completed the survey. Residents reported a statistically significant (p< 0.01, one-tailed t-test) increase in all assessed questions regarding the domains of confidence addressing social justice issues, personal responsibility, and intention to engage in social justice activities. There was a significant increase in perception of colleagues’ engagement in social justice activities and dialogue within the workplace (p< 0.01). However, there was not a significant change in perception of social injustice and discrimination within the workplace (p=0.14, two-tailed t-test).

Conclusion(s):
Implementation of the Education for CHANGE curriculum increased learners’ confidence addressing social justice issues, personal responsibility, and intention to engage in social justice activities. Future research should examine persistence of changes, active engagement in promoting social justice, and long-term outcome measures from sustained structural interventions.