Abstract:

The aim of this study was examining the attitudes of university students in the faculty of health sciences toward disability. This descriptive study was conducted with 906 students enrolled in a Health Science Faculty in the 2015-2016 academic year. The measurement instruments were the "Sociodemographic Data Form" and the "Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale". Of the students, 75.90% (688) were females, 24.1% (218) were males. It was found that the female students' "Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale" mean scores were higher than the male students' scores (p<0.01). Statistically significant differences were found in the "Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale" scores in terms of the students' departments (p<0.01) and their classes (p<.05). In the subscales, it was seen that there were significant differences in the mean scores of the students in the domains of educational environment, interpersonal relations, work life, personal characteristics and competence-independent living (p<0.01). The differences stemmed from the mean scores of the students in the Child Development and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Departments. Studies may be carried out to improve the attitudes of students whose "Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale" mean scores are low. It may be appropriate to schedule lessons aimed for this purpose so that they are made available over the entire course of the educational program.

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