Abstract
The rehabilitation and self-acceptance of individuals with impairments are significantly influenced by the attitudes of healthcare providers. Hence, it is critical that nurses cultivate favorable attitudes toward individuals with impairments throughout their training. The basic aim of the research is to explore the effect of gender on nursing student's attitudes towards disabled people. The intended purpose is to create awareness about social stigma that disable individuals faces, especially in healthcare settings. The study is a quantitative cross-sectional. This study comprised of 90 nursing students from varied semesters. Sample was selected via convenient method. Multidimensional Attitude Scale Towards People with Disability (MAS), was used for attitude assessment, which was adapted after the permission from the original author via email. All analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics V.21. To assess the validity of the MAS five-factor model, the principal component factor analysis was performed (EFA), the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to interpret the normality across five factors. All assumptions were tested using the Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) model before running Pearson correlation test. Statistical significance was set to a p-value < α (0.05). The results of the study states female nursing students display a more positive attitude towards disabled people than male students. As there are no specific courses in the nursing curriculum highlighting the handling and care of disabled patients so our future nurses lack the knowledge and skills to care for disabled individuals. To avoid such gaps such courses should be incorporated in the curriculum.