Altered Emotional Intelligence through a Health Disparity Curriculum: Early Results

Introduction. Emotional intelligence (EI) interests medical schools as a predictive factor in their graduates' clinical success. Historically black college and university (HBCU) academic health centers produce professionals to address health disparities. This preliminary study evaluated a health disparity reduction curriculum's effect on EI. Methods. Thirty-one undergraduates participating in a Meharry Medical College health disparity reduction program voluntarily self-reported demographic and EI data before and after service-learning training. Results. Paired sample t-test results demonstrated significant improvement in EI subscales of total score (p = .004), self-awareness (p=.001), self-confidence (p=.007), self-control (p=.041), motivation (p=.020), and social competence (p=.036). Multiple linear analyses confirmed African American race significantly predicted EI-Motivation (F [1,29] = 5.858, p =.022). Conclusions. These preliminary data support a beneficial effect in African Americans of a health disparity curriculum to improve EI, particularly the relevance of race to motivation. Future research should examine EI in HBCU medical school students.