{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,5]],"date-time":"2026-09-05T10:09:23Z","timestamp":1788602963492,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]],"date-time":"2025-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758585600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100019345","name":"King Salman Center for Disability Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KSRG-2024-283"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSRG-2024-283"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100019345","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Equitable access to medical education is essential for building a diverse and inclusive healthcare workforce. Despite national disability legislation in Saudi Arabia, the extent to which undergraduate medical programs implement inclusive admission criteria remains unclear. This study evaluates the inclusiveness of admission policies for students with disabilities across all undergraduate MBBS programs in Saudi Arabia.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional review of the official admission policies of 32 universities was conducted. Data were extracted from university websites to identify whether institutions provided inclusive pathways, accommodations for disability, or used exclusionary language or environmental\/institutional barriers related to disability.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Only 6 of 32 universities\u2013exclusively public institutions\u2013had formal disability-inclusive policies. The remaining schools either lacked inclusive provisions, support structures or required medical fitness documentation that could exclude applicants with physical, sensory, or mental impairments. Private universities showed no evidence of inclusive admissions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Most Saudi medical schools maintain exclusionary, ambiguous, or unsupportive admission practices, undermining national commitments to disability rights and global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4 and 10). Urgent institutional reforms are needed to dismantle barriers and ensure transparency, equity, supportive environments, and accessibility for applicants with disabilities in health professions education.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2025.1667625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]],"date-time":"2025-09-23T13:27:01Z","timestamp":1758634021000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Exclusion and inequity: a national analysis of disability-inclusive admission criteria in Saudi medical schools"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Anwar A.","family":"Sayed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"E981","DOI":"10.1001\/amajethics.2021.981","article-title":"Why disability must be included in medical school diversification efforts.","volume":"23","author":"Agaronnik","year":"2021","journal-title":"AMA J Ethics."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0b013e31824dd129","article-title":"North American medical schools\u2019 experience with and approaches to the needs of students with physical and sensory disabilities.","volume":"87","author":"Eickmeyer","year":"2012","journal-title":"Acad Med."},{"key":"B3","year":"2015","journal-title":"Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."},{"key":"B4","first-page":"645","article-title":"Patients to peers: barriers and opportunities for doctors with disabilities.","volume":"13","author":"Alicia","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nevada Law J."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2763","DOI":"10.1177\/23821205211072763","article-title":"Technical standards from newly established medical schools: a review of disability inclusive practices.","volume":"9","author":"Stauffer","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Med Educ Curric Dev."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1347","DOI":"10.1007\/s10459-023-10210-5","article-title":"Admitting privileges: a construction ecology perspective on the unintended consequences of medical school admissions.","volume":"28","author":"Taylor","year":"2023","journal-title":"Adv Heal Sci Educ."},{"key":"B7","first-page":"1","year":"2021","journal-title":"Overview of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."},{"key":"B8","year":"2000","journal-title":"The law Disability in Saudi Arabia."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"979","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000001087","article-title":"U.S. Medical schools\u2019 compliance with the Americans with disabilities act: findings from a national study.","volume":"91","author":"Zazove","year":"2016","journal-title":"Acad Med."},{"key":"B10","first-page":"1","year":"2024","journal-title":"Comparing Universities\u2019 Performance In National Licensure Exam Using Ranking Categories Defined By Confidence Interval Approach."},{"key":"B11","year":"2025","journal-title":"USD to SAR Conversion."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1694","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60101694","article-title":"The preparation of future statistically oriented physicians: a single-center experience in Saudi Arabia.","volume":"60","author":"Sayed","year":"2024","journal-title":"Medicina."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2929.2007.02708.x","article-title":"Effectiveness of selection in medical school admissions: evaluation of the outcomes among freshmen.","volume":"41","author":"Hulsman","year":"2007","journal-title":"Med Educ."},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.13005\/bpj\/347","article-title":"High school grades are not reliable predictors of academic performance in undergraduate medical school: a study from a saudi medical school.","volume":"5","author":"Guraya","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biomed Pharmacol J."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000004510","article-title":"The performance and trajectory of medical students with disabilities: results from a multisite. 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