A new study based on focus groups with doctors across the country provides insight into the problems people with disabilities often encounter in accessing healthcare. (think stock)
Physicians use excuses to deliberately discourage people with disabilities from seeking medical care, researchers say a new study reveals how pervasive discrimination against this group is in healthcare. Says.
In a focus group, doctors discussed strategic choices to keep people with disabilities away. They reported that patients with disabilities needed special care and were told, “I’m not your doctor.” In other cases, doctors simply said, “I’m not accepting new patients.” Or I said it was showing that I didn’t have your insurance.
The survey results are study It was published this month in the journal Health Affairs. This is based on a focus group conducted by researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the University of Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School in late 2018, in which 22 primary his Care and specialists are participating.
Advertising – Continue Reading Below
Many participants said that dealing with people with disabilities was a burden, and some used outdated expressions such as “mentally retarded.” Physicians frequently noted that the low number of disabled patients makes it difficult to justify using accessible equipment. They also had little knowledge of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, with some suggesting that the law was “against doctors.”
Latest research based on findings It was published From a survey of 714 doctors conducted by some of the same researchers earlier this year. Only 56% of the doctors who took part in the survey said they welcomed people with disabilities in their clinics, and only 41% said they could provide such patients with the same quality of care as others. . Meanwhile, more than a third of her doctors questioned said they knew little or nothing about their legal obligations under the ADA.
“Taken together, the focus group and survey responses paint a substantial and deeply disturbing picture of physicians’ attitudes and behavior regarding the care of people with disabilities,” said the study authors.
The findings suggest that more than 30 years after the passage of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, including in health care services, stigma continues to have a significant impact on health care.
Tara Raggu, a professor of hospital medicine and medical social sciences at Northwestern University and the author of the study, called doctors’ attitudes, especially to the ADA, “upsetting and disappointing.”
“Our body of research suggests that prejudices and discriminatory attitudes by physicians may contribute to the health disparities experienced by people with disabilities,” Lag said. says. “We need to address the attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate the unequal access experienced by the most vulnerable patients.”
Read more stories like this. Sign up for Disability Scoop’s free email newsletter Get the latest news on developmental disabilities sent straight to your inbox.
