The Changing Landscape of Intercultural Mindset in 616 Doctor of Physical Therapy Students Over the Past 7 Years and the Implications for Doctor of Physical Therapy Cultural Competence Education

Introduction: This prospective longitudinal study will report the results of a quantitative analysis of the change in Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) scores and the distribution of students in 5 orientations along the Intercultural Developmental Continuum (IDC) in 8 cohorts of DPT students during their academic preparation.Review of Literature: The expanding interest in developing intercultural sensitivity in an increasingly more complex and diverse healthcare environment calls for the dissemination of research on the effectiveness of innovative curricular models that include psychometrically strong outcome measures. Research suggests that healthcare providers can develop intercultural sensitivity when provided with didactic knowledge, experiential learning, self-reflection, mentoring, and a systematic individualized development plan. Subjects: The participants were from a sample of convenience of 616 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students from the graduating classes of 2015-2022.Methods: The study is a repeated measure design. The IDI® was selected to guide targeted intervention and assessment of intercultural sensitivity at an individual and group level and was administered in semesters 3 and 8 as part of the DPT program course requirements. Results: There was significant improvement in the IDI® Perceived and Developmental Orientation (p\u3c0.001) scores between semesters 3 and 8. There was a significant change (p=0.0001) in the distribution of students along the 5 developmental orientations of the IDC with 10% of students regressing one orientation, 51.7% of students remaining the same, 33.3% of students advancing one orientation, and 5% of students advancing two orientations along the IDC. Nearly 40% of participants had a positive shift along the IDC. Discussion and Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that intercultural sensitivity or mindset, as measured by the IDI® can be developed in DPT students who participate in a targeted intercultural development curriculum based on Deardorff’s Process Model of Cultural Competence and Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity