Attitudinal barriers from the perspective of people with physical disabilities

Abstract

Objective:To quantify attitudes toward disabilities, perceived by persons with disabilities (PWDs) treated at a university hospital in Brazil, as well as to determine whether PWD-perceived attitudinal barriers correlate with various factors. Methods This was a cross-sectional, observational study of PWDs who completed the Attitudes to Disability Scale for persons with physical disabilities (ADS-D), which quantifies the perceived attitudinal barrier, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The data were correlated with sex, income, depression, FIM score, type of disability and time since the onset of disability. Results: We evaluated 68 patients - 50.0% with a spinal cord injury, 38.2% with one or more amputated limbs and 11.8% with hemiplegia - of whom 66.2% were male, with a mean age of 39.33 ± 12.89 years, a mean of 10.95 ± 4.25 years of schooling, a median time since the onset of disability of 20.5 months (range, 10.5–33.5 months) and a median FIM score of 110.5 (range, 94–116.5). Of the 68 patients, 55.9% perceived their income to be below the national average, and depression was observed in 11.76%. The mean ADS-D total score (61.29 ± 8.75) did not correlate with sex, functionality, type of disability or time since the onset of disability. The perceived magnitude of the attitudinal barrier correlated with income (β-coefficient: −3.91; p = 0.001) and depression (β = −1.74; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Attitudinal barriers are influenced by income as a facilitator of inclusion and by depression as a barrier to inclusion.