Conceptions of accessibility among persons with spinal cord injury in Finland

Abstract

Accessibility is defined according to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) as a prerequisite for an independent life for persons with a disability. To explore how accessibility is understood or experienced by persons with a spinal cord injury, 45 persons with spinal cord injury living in Finland were interviewed. The analysis approach was phenomenographic, resulting in three main categories of conceptions of accessibility, illustrated through direct quotations. These three levels of understanding are Assumptions, Experiences, and Actions. Accessibility was primarily understood as accessibility in the built environment, and the impact of climate as well as personal choices regarding one’s own actions. Environmental and personal factors either facilitated or hindered the experience of accessibility. Accumulation of varying experiences about accessibility increased the interpretation of the person-environment connection on one’s own functioning and requirements towards accessibility, thus promoting the agency of persons with spinal cord injuries. Points of interest This study explored the variations of conceptions of accessibility experienced or understood by persons with spinal cord injury in Finland. The analysis resulted in three ways of experiencing accessibility: 1. Assumptions, 2. Experiences, and 3. Actions. The findings indicate that accessibility can be understood in various ways depending on assumptions related to accessibility, experiences, shared information, and the knowledge accumulated in the interaction between individual and the environment. Experiences of accessibility were primarily related to personal, physical, social, and attitudinal environmental factors, the person-environment connection, and the interpretations of their impact on one’s own functioning and accessibility requirements. Respondents identified environmental or personal factors as barring or facilitating accessibility. The interaction between the individual and the Northern environment, including four seasons, lead to various strategies for overcoming climate-caused barriers.