Table 1.
Characteristics of Study Participants
| Characteristics | Intervention (n = 24) | Control (n = 34) | P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (median), years | 24 (21.4) | 24 (21.4) | 0.97 |
| Women, n (%) | 14 (58) | 20 (59) | 0.99 |
| Follow-up, n (%)† | 20 (83) | 32 (94) | 0.22 |
| Race, n (%) | 0.46 | ||
| Caucasian | 15 (62) | 15 (44) | |
| African American | 1 (4) | 3 (9) | |
| Asian | 7 (29) | 11 (32) | |
| Hispanic | 1(4) | 5 (15) | |
| Professional school, n (%) | 0.69 | ||
| Medical student | 22 (92) | 29 (85) | |
| Dental student | 2 (8) | 5 (15) | |
| Year in school, n (%) | 0.53 | ||
| Year 1 | 18 (75) | 28 (82) | |
| Year 2 | 6 (25) | 6 (18) | |
| Social medicine courses, mean (SD)‡ | 1.7(1.3) | 2.1(1.0) | 0.36 |
| Clinical medicine courses, mean (SD)‡ | 2.0(1.7) | 1(0.1) | 0.29 |
| Art courses, mean (SD)§ | 2.4(1.8) | 1.9(2.0) | 0.41 |
| Pre-course visual skills exam scores, mean (SD) | |||
| Clinical imagery | 12.3 (0.71) | 11.6 (0.58) | 0.44 |
| Art imagery | 15.0 (1.0) | 15.0 (0.86) | 0.60 |
| All imagery | 13.2 (0.75) | 13.0 (0.62) | 0.60 |
*P-values are derived from the Wilcoxon rank sum test for ordinal variables and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables
†Number of students who completed all pre- and post-course assessments
‡Students’ mean number of social medicine (e.g., ethics, history of medicine, health-care policy, health-care administration, creative writing for physicians) or clinical courses beyond those required in the medical and dental curriculum
§Students’ mean number of prior art history and/or studio art courses and experiences