The social model of disability acknowledges that the difficulties faced by persons who stutter (PWS) stem not only from speech dysfluency but also from societal barriers, misconceptions, and stigmatizing attitudes that limit participation and inclusion. As future healthcare professionals, health sciences students play an important role in promoting early detection, proper referral, and supportive care....
Health sciences students show knowledge and attitude gaps toward people who stutter; audiology and speech-language pathology programs should consider targeted stuttering education using a disability-informed framework, though this study does not directly prescribe a curriculum.
Biased or uninformed attitudes among future clinicians can affect the quality of care for people who stutter, making stigma reduction in health sciences education a meaningful priority for the field.
- 01Cross-sectional survey of health sciences students on stuttering knowledge and attitudes.
- 02Applies the social model of disability — emphasizing societal barriers over impairment alone.
- 03Findings can inform curriculum design in audiology, SLP, and related training programs.
- 04Published in BMC Medical Education (2026).
- 05Does not assess clinical outcomes; results reflect attitudes, not competency or patient impact.
Health sciences students have identifiable gaps in knowledge and potentially negative attitudes toward people who stutter.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42458485
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12909-026-09946-6.
- Journal
- BMC Medical Education
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 3
- Population
- Health sciences students (including audiology, speech-language pathology, and related disciplines)
- Intervention
- Survey assessing knowledge and attitudes toward people who stutter
Primary outcomes
Knowledge levels about stuttering; Attitudes toward people who stutter
