The Attitudes of Palestinian Healthcare Students Towards People with Disabilities: Designing and Statistically Validating an Inventory

Background: People with disabilities (PWDs) often face negative attitudes and limited inclusion in healthcare settings. While international tools exist to measure healthcare student attitudes toward PWDs, few are validated for Arabic-speaking populations. To translate, culturally adapt, and validate an Arabic-language scale assessing healthcare students' attitudes and interactions with PWDs.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 healthcare students in Palestine. The original English scale was translated and back-translated into Arabic. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the underlying structure. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. We also examined associations between Attitudes toward PWD Inventory scores and sociodemographic variables. Results: The Arabic version showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86). EFA revealed two factors—Attitude and Interaction—explaining 48.3% of the total variance. The scale demonstrated good construct validity and was well understood by participants. Disabled healthcare students had significantly more positive attitudes than their peers (p = 0.006). No significant differences were found by gender, field of study, or level of contact with persons with disabilities. Conclusions: The adapted Arabic-language instrument is reliable and valid for assessing attitudes toward PWDs in healthcare students. It may be used to inform educational interventions and promote inclusion in clinical settings, especially in under-resourced and conflict-affected regions.