Has teaching about intellectual disability healthcare in Australian medical schools improved? A 20-year comparison of curricula audits

Table 3 Intellectual disability units taught by staff from different professional backgrounds

Profession^a	Compulsory units (%; no. schools^b)		Elective units (%; no. schools)		Total units (%; no. schools)
	T1 n = 44 units	T2 n = 36 units	T1 n = 8 units	T2 n = 7 units	T1 n = 55 units	T2 n = 43 units
Psychiatrist	7 (15.9%; 4)	7 (19.4%; 4)	0 (0.0%; 0)	2 (28.6%; 1)	7 (12.7%; 4)	9 (20.9%; 4)
Other medical practitioner	22 (50.0%; 6)	23 (63.9%; 6)	6 (75.0%; 4)	6 (85.7%; 4)	28 (50.9%; 8)	29 (67.4%; 7)
Psychologist	11 (25.0%; 6)	3 (8.3%; 2)	0 (0.0%; 0)	2 (28.6%; 2)	11 (20.0%; 6)	5 (11.6%; 3)
Registered nurse	0 (0.0%; 0)	0 (0.0%; 0)	1 (12.5%; 1)	2 (28.6%; 1)	1 (1.8%; 1)	2 (4.7%; 1)
Allied health	4 (9.1%; 4)	5 (13.9%; 3)	1 (12.5%; 1)	5 (71.4%; 3)	5 (9.1%; 4)	10 (23.3%; 5)
Health Professional^c	9 (20.5%; 5)	–	2 (25.0%; 2)	–	11 (20.0%; 6)	–
Other^d	10 (22.7%; 6)	1 (2.8%; 1)	2 (25.0%; 2)	0 (0.0%; 0)	12 (21.8%; 6)	1 (2.3%; 1)
Missing^ef	–	8 (22.2%; 1)	–	–	3 (5.5%; 1)	8 (18.6%; 1)

^a More than one profession could teach each ID unit (subsequently no column totals are displayed)
^bNumber of schools across which units were taught
^c At T1, some professionals only identified as general ‘health professionals’ or ‘medical professionals’; no such data was collected at T2
^d Other roles at T1 included anthropologist, behavioural scientist, disability professional, family members (of people with ID), member of Guardianship and Administration Board, person with interest in ID, school teacher, and self-advocacy group member; other roles at T2 included lawyer, person with ID expertise, and social scientist
^e Professional background data was missing for eight compulsory units taught in one school at T2
^f Compulsory/elective status and profession data was missing for 3 units taught in one school at T1

ISSN: 1472-6920