Search results for ‘Subject term:"physical disabilities"’ Sort:
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Whose life is it anyway?
- Author:
- DOWSON Steve
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 24.07.03, 2003, pp.38-39.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
There is apparently little concern about the possible impact of the new genetic sciences on the shape of humankind. The public may have qualms about some developments, such as human cloning, but the prospect of using the new knowledge to eradicate inherited illness and impairment is apparently welcomed without qualification. Some disability organisations, however, are expressing deep concern about where the science is leading us. Those people who most loudly defend the rights of disabled people are likely to base their position on a broader framework of human rights - a framework that will make them equally vehement in support of "a woman's right to choose".
Disability in Somaliland
- Authors:
- TOMLINSON Sally, ABDI Osman Ahmed
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 18(7), December 2003, pp.911-920.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Civil war lasting into the 1990s destroyed much of Somalia's economic, political and social structures, and conflict still continues in the southern areas of the country. In 1991, the northwest region declared itself the Independent Republic of Somaliland, established a government in Hargeisa and is struggling to rebuild an infrastructure. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking high on the UN hunger index, and is the third most heavily land-mined country. One of the most disadvantaged groups of people are the disabled, although there is little general information about numbers and kinds of disability, and few social and medical services. This article presents some limited information about the extent of the nature of disability, and local efforts to improve the lives of disabled children and adults. It reports projects funded by non-government organisations, and concentrates on a seminar held in early 2002 attended by a group of disabled people who made their voices heard.
Tell them who i was': the social construction of aphasia
- Author:
- MACKAY Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 18(6), October 2003, pp.811-826.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article addresses people with aphasia. Talking (communication) is linked to the medical ideology and the social ideology. The medical ideology complements capitalism and promotes the individual. The medical ideology has the power for requiring 'normal' language. One speech therapist says, '...take away hope but it is a rare person who can go back to talking normally as they did before'. The medical ideology takes people with aphasia and constructs the incompetence which marginalises them from the work force and sometimes from their families. The medical ideology encourages dependency, which is disempowering. The social ideology under a different notion of talking encourages people to engage in two-way communication. The author looks at sharing information with a sense of humour, which is empowering. He illustrates that people with aphasia have to operate between the two ideologies.
Fair treatment?: a survey of disability access policies in primary care trusts
- Author:
- CAMPION Jo
- Publisher:
- Leonard Cheshire
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 7p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The report found that while over 90% of primary care trusts claim their services are accessible to disabled people, significant numbers of people with a disability receive unequal treatment. Staff attitudes and poor communication provision were found to be key barriers to using doctors, dentists, opticians or emergency departments. As many as 90% of primary care trusts are ignoring government guidelines and risk breaching the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It is a lack of awareness about people’s disabilities, rather than a reluctance to address the issue, that creates problems for disabled people This report calls for compulsory disability training for all healthcare staff.
Beyond the medical model: a reconsideration of 'feeblemindedness', citizenship, and eugenic restrictions
- Author:
- CAREY Allison C.
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 18(4), June 2003, pp.411-430.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The rise of eugenic restrictions in early twentieth century America reshaped the relationship between intellectual disability, citizenship, and the exercise of rights. To explain the rise of rights restrictions, scholarship has largely turned to the medicalisation of 'feeblemindedness', while overlooking mainstream concepts within citizenship studies. By drawing upon an institutional and relational approach to citizenship, the author argues that factors including the dominant legal narratives and infrastructure, as well as the broader relational context can be used to enhance our understanding of the development of eugenic restrictions. More broadly, an institutional and relational approach to citizenship can provide a theoretical framework by which to meaningfully include people with intellectual disabilities within citizenship studies, while recognising their unique historical experiences.
Care and treatment?: supporting children with complex needs in healthcare settings
- Authors:
- STALKER Kirsten, et al
- Publisher:
- Pavilion,|Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 91p.
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
Significant numbers of children and young people with complex physical, medical and cognitive health needs may be spending unnecessarily long periods of time in hospital and other healthcare settings because inadequacy of community-based resources is preventing their discharge. This report details the findings of research conducted in England and Scotland to identify how many children with complex support needs are spending longer than one month in healthcare settings in Scotland and England, how and why they are in hospital, why they have not been discharged home or to appropriate alternative community-based facilities, and how well the hospital or healthcare setting is meeting their emotional, social and educational needs. It finds that many of these children could and should be discharged but are not, for a variety of reasons: primarily the lack of appropriate resources in the community and poor discharge planning processes, coupled with the inability of their families to manage their care and supervision without intensive support. Hospitals and healthcare settings in many cases are not meeting their needs and these children are being denied the protection offered by UK legislation governing children’s rights and welfare. The researchers conclude that much more should be done by health authorities and health boards, by NHS trusts, hospitals and community services, and by social services and education departments to ensure these children receive the same standards of care, treatment and protection accorded to other children, and that inappropriate admissions and such lengthy stays should be avoided at all costs.
Too disabled for care?: report on short break care services for children with complex needs
- Author:
- SHARED CARE NETWORK
- Publisher:
- Shared Care Network
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 8p.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Short break schemes link families of disabled children with individuals and families who can provide their children with short-term care on a regular basis. Short break services are the most popular support service requested by families of disabled children. Short breaks give parents a chance to recharge their batteries, spend time with their other children and do things which are difficult when caring for a disabled child full time. In addition the breaks help disabled children to take part in community life, to have fun, make friends and gain independence - opportunities, which are often denied many disabled children who may not have much of a social life outside their family and school. Children with complex healthcare needs and their families have the same range of needs of services and support as other disabled children. But they also have additional care needs, which relate to the use of medical technology e.g. technical or medical equipment.
Patterns of disability and norms of participation through the life course: empirical support for a social model of disability
- Author:
- SIMINSKI Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 18(6), October 2003, pp.707-718.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
An attempt has been made in this article to empirically demonstrate the social derivation of disability using quantitative data, framed around the medical model. It would seem that people who are not convinced of the social derivation of disability, are likely to be influenced by findings made in such data. The term 'social derivation' is used to encompass both social construction and creation. The approach taken was to focus on one aspect of the social derivation of disability--investigating how the patterns of 'disabling conditions' vary over the course of life, specifically the schooling, working and retirement age. The observed patterns are not consistent with a medical model of disability that ignores social factors. Instead, the patterns are linked to social forces, both attitudinal and material. Socially-determined norms of participation, which vary between the life phases, seem to be a key determinant of the observed patterns of disability.
Health blossoms in the garden
- Author:
- HOPKINS Graham
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 24.07.03, 2003, pp.42-43.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Gardening and horticulture can enable people to increase their self-esteem and confidence, learn or relearn skills, and keep or improve their quality of life. Working gardens, such as the ones run by the horticultural therapy charity Thrive, provide a sensory environment in which it is not only plants that grow but service users, too. This article describes the activities of one participant who has HIV and a physical disability.
Improving primary care for persons with disabilities: the nature of expertise
- Authors:
- BOWERS Barbara, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 18(4), June 2003, pp.443-355.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
It has been well documented that persons with disabilities (PWDs) have a more vulnerable health status than persons without disabilities; yet, they often receive inadequate primary care within the US health care system. This study explores how PWDs think about the health care they receive, particularly how primary care providers facilitate or hinder quality care for PWDs. The findings from this study expand the concept of expertise in health care, suggesting it goes well beyond technical competence of health care providers. For PWDs, expertise is multi-dimensional, not solely the domain of providers and includes having knowledge and using that knowledge within the context of the provider-patient relationship. PWDs identified three distinct areas of expertise: medical/technical, medical/biographical, and systems. Expertise can be brought to health care encounters by both PWDs and providers, and it can be developed through collaboration during interactions between providers and PWDs.