Students' Attitudes Toward Wheelchair Users in Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia: A Cross-Sectional Study During Wartime and Social Change

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14510%2F25%3A00142197" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14510/25:00142197 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44411-025-00282-7" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44411-025-00282-7</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s44411-025-00282-7" target="_blank" >10.1007/s44411-025-00282-7</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Students' Attitudes Toward Wheelchair Users in Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia: A Cross-Sectional Study During Wartime and Social Change

Original language description

BackgroundWheelchair users face significant daily challenges, many of which are the result of physical, social, and attitudinal barriers in society rather than their impairment alone. Public attitudes toward this group are shaped by personal experience, awareness, and the availability of accessible infrastructure. In Ukraine, the number of people with disabilities has increased due to the ongoing war, highlighting the relevance of student perspectives in this context.ObjectiveTo compare the attitudes of students from Ukraine and the Visegrad Group (V4) countries-Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia-toward wheelchair users.Materials and MethodsIn 2024, a total of 997 students from Poland, 1222 from the Czech Republic, 918 from Slovakia, and 986 from Ukraine participated in a survey using the standardized Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS). Sampling was non-random and based on convenience, which limits the representativeness of the findings.ResultsCognitive and behavioral components of attitudes were generally stable and comparable across all four groups. However, significant differences were observed in the emotional subscale, with Ukrainian students demonstrating more positive attitudes. The median total MAS score was lower (indicating more favorable attitudes) for Ukrainian students (60) compared to Poland, Slovakia (68), and the Czech Republic (71).ConclusionsUkrainian students reported more positive emotional attitudes toward wheelchair users compared to peers from Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. These results highlight the influence of social context on attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30307 - Nursing

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Bratislava medical journal

ISSN

0006-9248

e-ISSN

1336-0345

Volume of the periodical

126

Issue of the periodical within the volume

11

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

3208-3218

UT code for WoS article

001561282600001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105014893338