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AMA Journal of Ethics Oct 2016The meaning of "disability" has shifted with changes in public policy. Half a century ago, Congress was convinced that narrow determinations of disability are easy for...
The meaning of "disability" has shifted with changes in public policy. Half a century ago, Congress was convinced that narrow determinations of disability are easy for physicians to make. But with the advent of universal civil rights protection against disability discrimination in the US, deciding whether particular individuals are disabled became increasingly contentious, until Congress intervened. What should now be addressed in each case is not whether the functionally compromised person is severely disabled enough to exercise a right, but whether mitigating interventions and reasonable accommodations can together achieve equitable access for that person.
Topics: Civil Rights; Disability Evaluation; Disabled Persons; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Public Policy; Social Discrimination; Social Justice; United States
PubMed: 27780027
DOI: 10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.10.pfor2-1610 -
Advances in Health Sciences Education :... May 2024How medical students, their teachers, and school administrators understand disability appears connected to ongoing, unequal access to medical education for disabled...
How medical students, their teachers, and school administrators understand disability appears connected to ongoing, unequal access to medical education for disabled people. The stigmatization of disability within medical education affects students' disability disclosures, yet few studies have explored how understandings of disability influence inclusion practices beyond individual student actions. This paper develops the concept of legibility, derived from a constructivist grounded theory study that examined disability inclusion at four U.S. medical schools through interviews with 19 disabled students and 27 school officials (faculty and administrators). With two dimensions (recognition and assessment of possibility), legibility demonstrates that knowing disability is relational, contextual, and equivocal. Drawing from the field of disability studies, the paper argues that the current paradigm of disability inclusion demands that students' disability experiences be highly legible to themselves and others, yet increased legibility comes with potential risk due to prevalent ableism. While individual interactions can shift understandings of disability towards greater inclusivity, systemic action that embeds liberating discourses of disability into medical education is needed.
Topics: Humans; Disabled Persons; Grounded Theory; Students, Medical; Male; Female; Education, Medical; United States; Interviews as Topic; Adult
PubMed: 37479819
DOI: 10.1007/s10459-023-10268-1 -
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation Dec 2018Purpose Amputation is a life changing event that can significantly impact an individual's physical and mental well-being. Our objective was to review literature... (Review)
Review
Purpose Amputation is a life changing event that can significantly impact an individual's physical and mental well-being. Our objective was to review literature exploring the impact of amputation upon a person's functioning and inclusion in the workplace. Methods Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched using keywords related to amputation, employment and community reintegration. Eligible studies were published since 2000 and one of the following study designs: randomized controlled trial, non-randomized controlled trial, retrospective study, prospective study, concurrent cohort study, or cross sectional study. Studies for civilians with amputation as well as service members and Veterans with amputation were considered for inclusion. Results The search identified 995 articles, 25 of which met inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the review. While strong evidence for correlations and predictors of outcomes after amputation were limited, multiple factors were identified as contributing to physical functioning and employment after amputation. Conclusions Outcomes after amputation can vary widely with many potentially inter-related factors contributing. The factors identified may also serve to inform the development of interventions aiming to improve functional performance and reintegration after amputation. Furthermore, the review highlights the need for more high quality prospective studies.
Topics: Amputation, Traumatic; Disabled Persons; Employment; Humans; Lower Extremity; Rehabilitation, Vocational; Return to Work; Self-Help Devices; Upper Extremity; Walking
PubMed: 29397480
DOI: 10.1007/s10926-018-9757-y -
JAMA Apr 2023
Topics: Grief; Disabled Persons
PubMed: 36928549
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.2214 -
Disability and Rehabilitation Jul 2024The benefits of sport and exercise participation for people with disability are well acknowledged. However, people with disability report numerous barriers to...
PURPOSE
The benefits of sport and exercise participation for people with disability are well acknowledged. However, people with disability report numerous barriers to participating in sport and exercise, including negative interactions with fitness professionals. Limited research is available from the perspective of fitness professionals. This study aimed to understand the experience of fitness professionals supporting people with disability to engage in sport and exercise.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A cross sectional survey study was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data on community-based fitness professionals from Australia, with or without experience working with a person with disability.
RESULTS
A total of 72 fitness professionals took part in the study with most reporting experience and confidence in working with people with disabilities. Several barriers were identified with participants highlighting the lack of disability-specific training. Participants also identified potential facilitators, including effective collaboration with allied health professionals.
CONCLUSION
There is emerging interest for fitness professionals to support people with disability to engage in sport and exercise. However, changes are required within the education provided to fitness professionals and with the current collaborative model with allied health professionals to better support the participation of people with disability in sport and exercise.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disabled Persons; Male; Australia; Female; Adult; Surveys and Questionnaires; Middle Aged; Exercise; Sports; Attitude of Health Personnel; Physical Fitness
PubMed: 37578127
DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2023.2246890 -
Journal of Intellectual Disabilities :... Sep 2022Person-centred planning (PCP) puts individuals with an intellectual disability at the centre of service and support planning, identifying how individuals wish to live...
Person-centred planning (PCP) puts individuals with an intellectual disability at the centre of service and support planning, identifying how individuals wish to live their lives and what is needed to make that possible. PCP has been identified as having the potential to facilitate improved social inclusion and community participation. A mixed-methods approach combined quantitative analyses with qualitative case studies of individuals with severe-profound intellectual disability to assess the impact of PCP on community participation for adults with an intellectual disability at a disability service in Dublin. We conclude that PCP may provide a good basis to plan community participation and, with the right supports in place, may provide opportunities for people with complex needs to improve their community participation. Supports including familiar staff and family are critical to the success of PCP for people with complex needs, and their absence may undermine the best intentions of PCP for this population.
Topics: Adult; Community Participation; Disabled Persons; Humans; Intellectual Disability; Qualitative Research
PubMed: 34219528
DOI: 10.1177/17446295211022125 -
Disability and Rehabilitation Aug 2016To develop a better understanding of the experiences of volunteer work among youth with disabilities. (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
To develop a better understanding of the experiences of volunteer work among youth with disabilities.
METHOD
A scoping review was undertaken to assess the benefits and challenges of volunteering among youth with disabilities. Comprehensive searches using six international databases were conducted. Eligible articles included: (a) youth aged 30 or younger, with a disability; (b) empirical research on the benefits or challenges of volunteering; (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal between 1980 and 2014.
RESULTS
Of the 1558 articles identified, 20 articles - involving 1409 participants, aged 12-30, across five countries - met the inclusion criteria. Studies linked volunteering to the development of human capital (i.e. practical experience, improved self-determination, self-confidence, coping), enhanced social capital (i.e. social and communication skills, social inclusion) and improved cultural capital (i.e. helping others, contributing to community). Many youth with disabilities also encountered challenges - including lack of accessible volunteer opportunities, difficulties arranging transportation, and negative attitudes from potential supervisors.
CONCLUSIONS
Young people with disabilities are willing and able to volunteer, and they report benefits of volunteering; however, they face many challenges in finding suitable volunteer positions. More rigorous research is needed to understand the health and social benefits of volunteering and how it can help youth develop career pathways. Implications for Rehabilitation Clinicians, educators and parents should discuss the benefits of volunteering with youth with disabilities and assist them in finding placements that match their interests and abilities. Managers and clinicians should consider incorporating volunteering into vocational rehabilitation programming (i.e. addressing how to find placements and connecting youth to organisations). Clinicians should encourage youth to take part in social and extracurricular activities to help build their social skills and networks where they can learn about volunteer opportunities. Clinicians and educators should advocate on behalf of youth with disabilities among community organisations to help break down barriers and reduce misconceptions and negative attitudes by showcasing the abilities that youth with disabilities have to offer.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Disabled Persons; Humans; Needs Assessment; Rehabilitation, Vocational; Volunteers
PubMed: 26678410
DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2015.1107634 -
Disability and Health Journal Jul 2022The use of disability language in academic scholarship has changed significantly over the past several years. Although it would be helpful to have concrete guidelines...
The use of disability language in academic scholarship has changed significantly over the past several years. Although it would be helpful to have concrete guidelines and rules that could generalize across situations regarding disability terminology, language itself is a phenomenon that evolves and varies over time in response to cultural shifts. People with disabilities have varied preferences about the language they use to describe themselves and what language they prefer to be used to describe them. At the same time, disability researchers, including the current authors, are often given prescriptive guidance by journal editors about the specific disability language they should use (i.e., person-first language). Thus, the tension between approaches to disability language underscores a need for open dialogue about a culturally informed choice of disability language in scholarly publications. Accordingly, this commentary discusses the history and evolution of disability language, explores current trends, and recommends language for academic articles.
Topics: Disabled Persons; Humans; Language; Research Personnel
PubMed: 35581135
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101328 -
Nursing Philosophy : An International... Oct 2017The article addresses Jürgen Habermas' theory of communicative action, which offers very productive tools for analysing disability. The Habermasian division of social...
The article addresses Jürgen Habermas' theory of communicative action, which offers very productive tools for analysing disability. The Habermasian division of social reality helps examine positive and negative effects of tensions between the lifeworld of a person with disability and the system. By exploring such an individual's communicative action, one can obtain an insight into his/her validity claims and disruptions in the communication process and self-understandings inscribed in group narratives. The study reported in the article used in-depth interviews, which narratively reveal the experiences of a person with disability in family, education, sports and labour. The key findings are, first, that the rationalization of lifeworlds of people with disability increases while processes in which they are colonized by the system intensify; second, that education and family are significant factors in the raising of validity claims; and third, that validity claims as tools of verbal communication should be augmented with arguments from non-verbal language (e.g. gesture, empathy).
Topics: Attitude; Communication; Disabled Persons; Empathy; Humans; Psychological Distance; Social Norms
PubMed: 28164412
DOI: 10.1111/nup.12171 -
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation... Aug 2019Approximately 1 in 4 adults in the United States have a disability that affects major life activities. This article provides a brief historical perspective of disability...
Approximately 1 in 4 adults in the United States have a disability that affects major life activities. This article provides a brief historical perspective of disability determination, and revisits the conceptual foundation for understanding the current models of disablement and their general application to the major US disability systems and nuances thereof. The expectations placed on the physician-expert examiner and why the physiatrist is ideally equipped to function in this role are discussed. The article is intended to provide a heightened awareness of the medicolegal framework, potential pitfalls, and other ramifications of such undertakings.
Topics: Disability Evaluation; Disabled Persons; Health Personnel; Humans; Insurance, Disability; Models, Psychological; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 31227127
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmr.2019.04.001