Household economic and educational disadvantage is associated with reduced odds of admission to medical programs (pooled OR = 0.6)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2031: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Applicants from households with economic and educational disadvantage have 40% lower odds of acceptance to medical programs (pooled OR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.55–0.65, k=22). → Arianpoor Arash 2026

Evidence¶

Arianpoor Arash 2026¶

Arianpoor Arash, Pena Alexia, Mercer Annette, Cox Jennifer, Lekkas Dimitra, Geronimo Francis Ruel, Waldron Heidi, Randal John, Dabner Marcus, Lynagh Marita, Pather Nalini, Shepherd Nicole, Robb Nigel, Berdin Rose, Wilkinson Tim, Hu Wendy, Shulruf Boaz, Huang Pin-Hsiang. (2026). Socioeconomic and economic factors affecting access and progression in medical schools: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions. https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2026.23.6

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Random-effects meta-analysis of 22 effect sizes from the review's included studies of medical program selection. Table 1 reports the pooled effect size as OR = 0.6 (95% CI 0.55–0.65), a 40% reduction in "the likelihood of acceptance" for disadvantaged households.

"For “household economic and educational disadvantage,” meta-analysis of 22 effect sizes showed that being from a disadvantaged household reduced the likelihood of acceptance by 40% (Table 1)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Applicants from deprived geographic areas have lower odds of selection into medical programs (pooled OR = 0.69) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Household economic and educational disadvantage is associated with poorer progression through medical school, with effects larger for progression than for selection — related
• Socioeconomic disadvantage shows a persistent adverse association across both selection and progression stages of medical education — related
• Funnel plot and Egger's test show no statistical evidence of publication bias for the composite household-disadvantage selection effect — related