Abstract:

Methodologies based on clinical case studies, although recommended in Rehabilitation Psychology training, often fail to develop the contextual and interactional skills required in real-life clinical settings. Clinical Simulation (CS) is a promising educational tool in health sciences, and the inclusion of Disability Simulation (DS) can be of great relevance for health professionals to grasp the societal experience of living with a disability, as emphasized by the WHO. This study aimed to determine whether CS alone, or CS combined with DS, positively affected students’ perceived self-efficacy, knowledge acquisition, and academic performance when compared to previous instructional methods. A transversal study was conducted over two academic years within the Rehabilitation Psychology course of the Psychology Degree program. Phase 1 (2022-2023, N=142) implemented CS exclusively, while Phase 2 (2023-2024, N=104) incorporated both CS and DS into the curriculum. Results from Phase 1 indicated an increase in self-efficacy for the majority of learning outcomes; however, no significant difference was observed in subject content knowledge (pre-test M=6.60, post-test M=6.66$). Conversely, Phase 2 (CS + DS) produced significant enhancements across all self-efficacy outcomes and a statistically significant increase in subject content knowledge (pre-test M=5.19, post-test M=6.87; t=-10.33, p<.001, d=1.04). Furthermore, post-test self-efficacy was significantly higher in Phase 2 (M=55.93) than in Phase 1 (M=47.68; t=-7.21, p<.001, d=0.89), suggesting an augmented effect when both methodologies were integrated. DS also significantly improved knowledge regarding disability (t=-9.88, p<.001, d=0.99) and was highly valued by students (85.6%) for fostering an understanding of physical barriers. Both simulation years demonstrated significant improvements in overall academic performance compared to the non-simulation course (2021-2022). In conclusion, the integration of Clinical and Disability Simulation yielded superior outcomes, significantly enhancing students' self-efficacy and subject content knowledge beyond the effects of Clinical Simulation in isolation, while concurrently improving academic performance and promoting a deeper understanding of disability.

Keywords:

Clinical simulation, Disability simulation, Psychology, University.