Educating Medical Trainees on Mental Healthcare and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Authors

Andrea Palmieri, University of New Hampshire, DurhamFollow
Joan B. Beasley, University of New Hampshire, DurhamFollow
Micah Peace Urquilla, University of New HampshireFollow
Jennifer McLaren, Geisel School of Medicine at DartmouthFollow

Abstract

Many children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience mental health conditions and commonly receive treatment with psychotropic medications. Prescribers often overuse these medications in children with IDD, who are frequently treated with polypharmacy and antipsychotics, a trend that continues into adulthood. Medical trainees receive little training regarding the IDD patient population. This paper describes the development and evaluation of an evidence-informed, easy-to-use training curriculum. The 6-hour training establishes a foundation for medical trainees regarding the treatment of mental health conditions in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD-MH) as part of an integrated health, interdisciplinary treatment approach. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the training curriculum's effectiveness in improving knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The training was provided to 99 students including physician assistant students, medical students and psychiatry residents, along with child psychiatry fellows at three universities. Eighty-two participants completed pre- post-assessments and module evaluations. Participants reported overall satisfaction with the training. Findings indicate significant improvements across effectiveness measures.

Plain Language Summary

Many children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) also have mental health conditions. It is common for people with IDD to be put on psychotropic medications, which affect a person’s mind, mood, and behavior. Doctors often prescribe these medications too much for people with IDD. It is also common for people with IDD to take more than one medication at a time, a practice called polypharmacy. Polypharmacy can be risky. Strong medications like antipsychotics are also used more often with this group. May people with IDD stay on these medications from childhood into adulthood.

Medical trainees do not get much training in how to care for people with IDD. This paper talks about a training program created to fix that problem. It will discuss how effective a training program was at improving knowledge, comfort level, and attitudes of medical trainees. It is based on evidence, and easy to use. The training program teaches medical students about mental health issues in people with IDD. The training program is 6 hours long.

Researchers studied the training to see how well the program worked. They looked at changes in knowledge, attitudes, and comfort in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions in people with IDD.

A total of 99 students from three different universities took part in the training. These students included physician assistant students, medical students and psychiatry residents, and child psychiatry fellows. Eighty-two students completed surveys before and after the training and gave feedback about the program. Overall, students were happy with the training. Results showed that the program helped improve all the areas it aimed to improve.

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Recommended Citation

Palmieri, Andrea; Beasley, Joan B.; Peace Urquilla, Micah; and McLaren, Jennifer (2026) "Educating Medical Trainees on Mental Healthcare and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities," Developmental Disabilities Network Journal: Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 3.
DOI: 10.59620/2694-1104.1112
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ddnj/vol5/iss2/3