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Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Winkelman, TNA; Lehmann, LS; Vidwan, NK; Niess, M; Davey, CS; Donovan, D; Cofrancesco, J; Mallory, M; Moutsios, S; Antiel, RM; Song, JY
Published in: J Gen Intern Med
July 2015

BACKGROUND: It is not known whether medical students support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or possess the knowledge or will to engage in its implementation as part of their professional obligations. OBJECTIVE: To characterize medical students' views and knowledge of the ACA and to assess correlates of these views. DESIGN: Cross-sectional email survey. PARTICIPANTS: All 5,340 medical students enrolled at eight geographically diverse U.S. medical schools (overall response rate 52% [2,761/5,340]). MAIN MEASURES: Level of agreement with four questions regarding views of the ACA and responses to nine knowledge-based questions. KEY RESULTS: The majority of respondents indicated an understanding of (75.3%) and support for (62.8%) the ACA and a professional obligation to assist with its implementation (56.1%). The mean knowledge score from nine knowledge-based questions was 6.9 ± 1.3. Students anticipating a surgical specialty or procedural specialty compared to those anticipating a medical specialty were less likely to support the legislation (OR = 0.6 [0.4-0.7], OR = 0.4 [0.3-0.6], respectively), less likely to indicate a professional obligation to implement the ACA (OR = 0.7 [0.6-0.9], OR = 0.7 [0.5-0.96], respectively), and more likely to have negative expectations (OR = 1.9 [1.5-2.6], OR = 2.3 [1.6-3.5], respectively). Moderates, liberals, and those with an above-average knowledge score were more likely to indicate support for the ACA (OR = 5.7 [4.1-7.9], OR = 35.1 [25.4-48.5], OR = 1.7 [1.4-2.1], respectively) and a professional obligation toward its implementation (OR = 1.9 [1.4-2.5], OR = 4.7 [3.6-6.0], OR = 1.2 [1.02-1.5], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of students in our sample support the ACA. Support was highest among students who anticipate a medical specialty, self-identify as political moderates or liberals, and have an above-average knowledge score. Support of the ACA by future physicians suggests that they are willing to engage with health care reform measures that increase access to care.

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Published In

J Gen Intern Med

DOI

EISSN

1525-1497

Publication Date

July 2015

Volume

30

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1018 / 1024

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Students, Medical
  • Schools, Medical
  • Professional Competence
  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
  • Medicine
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Care Reform
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Winkelman, T. N. A., Lehmann, L. S., Vidwan, N. K., Niess, M., Davey, C. S., Donovan, D., … Song, J. Y. (2015). Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools. J Gen Intern Med, 30(7), 1018–1024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-015-3267-9
Winkelman, Tyler N. A., Lisa Soleymani Lehmann, Navjyot K. Vidwan, Meredith Niess, Cynthia S. Davey, Derek Donovan, Joseph Cofrancesco, et al. “Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools.J Gen Intern Med 30, no. 7 (July 2015): 1018–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-015-3267-9.
Winkelman TNA, Lehmann LS, Vidwan NK, Niess M, Davey CS, Donovan D, et al. Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools. J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Jul;30(7):1018–24.
Winkelman, Tyler N. A., et al. “Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools.J Gen Intern Med, vol. 30, no. 7, July 2015, pp. 1018–24. Pubmed, doi:10.1007/s11606-015-3267-9.
Winkelman TNA, Lehmann LS, Vidwan NK, Niess M, Davey CS, Donovan D, Cofrancesco J, Mallory M, Moutsios S, Antiel RM, Song JY. Medical Students' Views and Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act: A Survey of Eight U.S. Medical Schools. J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Jul;30(7):1018–1024.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Gen Intern Med

DOI

EISSN

1525-1497

Publication Date

July 2015

Volume

30

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1018 / 1024

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Students, Medical
  • Schools, Medical
  • Professional Competence
  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
  • Medicine
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Care Reform