Organization Disability Research Articles

Eating Experiences of People with Disabilities: A Qualitative Study in Spain.

Background: Disability causes changes in the eating process, which is central to the definition of each individual’s social and psychological spaces. Methods: This is a qualitative study based on grounded theory. Interviews were carried out in clinical hospital settings and headquarters of several disability organisations. The study included 27 individuals, aged between 18–75 years. All participants had a disability that caused a functional deficiency in the occupational aspects of the eating process. Results: The respondents’ narratives were analysed through observations made in different contexts, allowing us to describe and understand the significance attributed by the participants to their reality and experiences. Three key themes emerged from the analysis: (1) waning bodies (assumption of a diminished corporality); (2) redefinition of food-related social spaces; and (3) perceived burdensomeness, shame, and loneliness. Conclusions: Assisted feeding tends to prioritise the nutritional component of food ingestion. However, cultural, social, and contextual factors have a critical impact on an individual’s well-being and quality of life. This study stresses the importance of re-addressing intervention models affecting differently-abled people and incorporating approaches that take into account the contextual aspects of occupational therapy.

A 25-Year Overview of AgrAbility Demographics

ABSTRACT The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) AgrAbility Program was established as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. It functions through partnerships between land grant universities and nonprofit disability organizations to improve the independence and quality of life of ranchers and farmers with disabilities. This article reports on analyses of the first 25 years of demographic data from clients served by funded state AgrAbility projects. Between 1991 and 2016, State or Regional AgrAbility Projects (SRAPs) provided information, education, and service annually to an estimated average of 490 new clients for a total of 11,754 new clients. New clients’ average age was 52.1 with 75.1% male. Primary causes of reported disabilities were chronic nonincident-related disabilities (41.7%), non-agricultural incidents (32.2%), and agricultural incidents (19.5%). Typically AgrAbility served clients for one to 74 months (M = 14.85 months), because of the severity of their disabilities, the deterioration of their situation, and the years it sometimes took to assist them in reaching their goals. Combining new, ongoing, reopened, and closed case reports, SRAPs served approximately 1,190 clients annually on average. The average age of new, ongoing, reopened, and closed case reports was 52.7 with 78.0% male. Data collection, analyses, and reporting of client data presented a means of providing program accountability and of helping guide future programming efforts. Findings were used by stakeholders, policymakers, and decision-makers to justify the continued inclusion of the AgrAbility Program in the 2018 USDA Farm Bill.

Response of a non-governmental organisation to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact with local or national lockdowns imposed in 172 countries. Morbidity and mortality due to the virus has seriously damaged both the health of populations and the economy. Government and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) have been hard pressed to respond meaningfully in the global crisis, the likes of which have not been experienced in recent times. A disability and development organization in India, a branch of a global non-governmental organization, reflects on the challenges and lessons learnt in responding to the crisis. The need to be alert, responsive, and consultative is highlighted.

Personalisation and the Promise of Independent Living: Where Now for Cash, Care and Control for Disability Organisations Across the UK?

Personalisation has dominated social care across OECD countries over the past 20 years. UK policy evolved from the efforts of disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs) to secure the availability of cash payments as part of a wider drive to enable independent living. Implementation of personalisation across the UK has seen significant divergence in how governments have developed their own responses, but in each country the DPOs’ role and impact has shifted from campaigning and promoting the voices of disabled people to a more muted focus on service provision and limited policy engagement. This article draws on a series of interviews with DPOs and leading disabled activists. It highlights concerns raised related to themes around austerity, changing relationships with local government and the role of co-production in developing policy. We conclude the article by discussing the future directions for personalisation and developments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inclusive Manufacturing: The Impact of Disability Diversity on Productivity in a Work Integration Social Enterprise

Problem definition: This study examines the impact of disability diversity on the productivity of apparel manufacturing teams in the context of a work integration social enterprise. Two measures of disability diversity are examined: the number of disability categories employed in a production line and the evenness of disability category dispersion among workers employed in an apparel production line. Academic/practical relevance: The problem has both academic and practical relevance. From an academic standpoint, the current literature does not study the implications of employing individuals with disabilities and their impact on productivity with microdata. The issue also has practical relevance because it ties into recent managerial interest to employ individuals with disabilities in organizations. According to statistics, only 35% of workers with disabilities have some form of significant full-time employment. Methodology: The study uses panel regression analyses to test the impact of disability diversity (number of disability categories and evenness of disability category dispersion) of workers in a production line using detailed multiyear data on the productivity of apparel manufacturing cells. Results: Two key insights emerged from the analyses. First, productivity can be enhanced by increasing the diversity of workers with disabilities in the workforce within a garment-manufacturing cell. Specifically, productivity is best at moderate levels of disability categories in a team. Second, team productivity is higher at greater levels of evenness of disability category dispersion. Managerial implications: The analysis in this paper sheds light on the potential benefits of integrating individuals with disabilities into organizations and its implications on productivity. Specifically, the study finds evidence that having moderate levels of disability categories on a team with higher levels of evenness in disability category dispersion is associated with better productivity rather than having a concentrated team focused on a specific disability. The implications of the results and limitations for the study as well as its potential insights into the context of social enterprises that employ individuals with disabilities are discussed.

"Someone will come in and say I'm doing it wrong." The perspectives of fathers with learning disabilities in England.

Accessible summary When people with learning disabilities have children and become parents, they sometimes need good support to help them.Research about parents with learning disabilities and the support they get is usually about mothers and not fathers. There is not very much written about dads with learning disabilities.This paper is about interviews with eight dads with learning disabilities who told us about what it was like to be a dad and about the kind of support they had got.We think more support needs to be given to parents with learning disabilities and that dads should be included in this. BackgroundThis article reports on the perspectives of fathers with a learning disability in England about being fathers and the support they have received. Although there is an established literature that considers parenting with a learning disability, few studies have focused on the perspectives of fathers.MethodWe adopted a qualitative approach for this study, using semi‐structured interviews with eight fathers with learning disabilities, recruited through learning disability organisations and social media. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsBeing a father was important to participants and the findings are presented in three themes: descriptions of fatherhood; challenges of fatherhood; and support with fatherhood.ConclusionWe discuss how fathers' perspectives on fatherhood relate to wider transformations of fatherhood in society, the impact of these on fathering with a learning disability and the implications for services.

Enhancing participation while aging with spinal cord injury: applying behaviour change frameworks to develop intervention recommendations.

Knowledge translation study. Use the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to (1) identify barriers and facilitators to participation in daily activities and social roles among people aging with spinal cord injury (SCI); and, (2) systematically co-develop participation-focused intervention recommendations with SCI community organizations that can support people aging with SCI. Canadian SCI community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 people (minimum 45 years of age; minimum 10 years post injury). Participants were asked about their experiences with participating in daily activities and social roles while aging and preferences for what participation-focused interventions should entail. Transcripts were analyzed to address three stages of behaviour change intervention design: (1) identify barriers and facilitators; (2) identify intervention functions and policy categories; (3) identify implementation options. Findings were synthesized into intervention recommendations and assessed for feasibility. Participation in daily activities and social roles was heavily influenced by three TDF domains: environmental context and resources, skills, and social influences. Six intervention functions and all policy categories within the BCW were considered viable intervention options. Multiple messengers and modes of delivery were identified as important. The synthesized recommendations included educating SCI organization membership, partnering with other disability organizations, and advocating to the provincial government. Findings suggest that multiple intervention formats delivered through a variety of implementation options are needed to enhance participation in daily activities and social roles while aging with SCI. Future efforts should focus on translating the recommendations into real-world behaviour change interventions.

Managers' Conceptions and Their Effects on the Perception of Employees with Disabilities.

The research aimed to identify managers’ conceptions of disability and the relationship that was established between these conceptions and their perception of the persons with disabilities (PWD) performance, bond, benefits of hiring, and training needs. 257 managers answered a questionnaire in order to identify conceptions of disability in organizations. Descriptive statistics, factorial analysis, and hierarchical analysis of grouping were performed while using IBM Statistic 20.0.0. The results show that managers who have the spiritual and the conception based on inclusion perceive the insertion of PWD as beneficial to the organization. Those who conceive disability as a question of normality perceive the PWD performance as inferior to those without disabilities, which implies that PWDs should be segregated; and, the managers who perceive disability as a social problem are likely to place PWDs in the workplace according to their potential. The results can be fruitfully used by managers, human resources’ professionals, academics, and the society to promote inclusion.

Planning for inclusion? An assessment of Ontario's emergency preparedness guide for people with disabilities

People with disabilities are impacted disproportionately by ‘natural’ disasters. In part this heightened vulnerability reflects cultural, economic and political processes that (re)produce the broader social exclusion of people with disabilities. More immediately, it reflects the exclusion of people with disabilities from disaster management and emergency preparedness efforts. This paper presents findings from an in-depth case study of Ontario's Emergency Preparedness Guide for People with Disabilities as one attempt at inclusive emergency planning, drawing on key informant interviews with government officials and disability organizations. Analysis shows that while the guide's development involved broad consultation, it fails to reflect the diversity of Ontario's disabled communities. At the same time, the guide's emphasis on fostering individual resilience in the face of emergencies is contested by disability organizations' emphasis on interdependence, preparedness and action at the community level and in the context of broader social and material conditions. Interviews with people with intellectual disabilities reinforce the value of a focus on interdependence, preparedness and action at a community, rather than an individual, level.

Turning a blind eye to employers’ discrimination? Attitudinal barrier perceptions of vision impaired youth from Oslo and Delhi

Young adults with visual impairments encounter a twin burden of attitudinal and access barriers, which inhibits their employment inclusion. There exists a dearth of comparative research focused on the negative influence of attitudinal barriers on their employment outcomes. This article juxtaposes previously un-researched barrier perceptions associated with employers’ discrimination of qualified YAVI from Oslo and Delhi. Employers’ discrimination is couched in the social model approach, and its nuances are understood through the concept of disablism. A qualitative case study was conducted from November 2017 to June 2018, wherein 29 YAVI (12 from Oslo and 17 from Delhi) were interviewed. This article demonstrates unanticipated similarities associated with the perception of employers’ discrimination in two dissimilar labour markets. It calls for further Global North South research to better comprehend the influence of employers’ discrimination and concludes with some potential recommendations for different stakeholders. Points of interest Globally, vision impaired people face difficulties to get employment. Employers discriminate against vision impaired people during the recruitment process in developed and developing countries. It is rare to come across comparative research involving Norway, a developed country, and India, a developing country. Comparing employment experiences of vision impaired youth across developed and developing countries is also scarce. For the first time, stories of discrimination from young adults with visual impairments from Oslo and Delhi are compared. These youths shared similar experiences linked to discrimination during job interviews. The voice of youth with visual impairments from developed and developing countries should be heard to better deal with the problem of employers’ discrimination. Based on the employment experiences of the vision impaired youth, recommendations are offered to policy-makers, prospective employers, disability organisations and other vision impaired youth to overcome discrimination.

Evaluating MTurk as a recruitment tool for rural people with disabilities

BackgroundRecruitment of people with disabilities often occurs through disability organizations, advocacy groups, service providers, and patient registries. Recruitment that relies exclusively on established relationships can produce samples that may miss important information. The MTurk online marketplace offers a convenient option for recruitment. ObjectiveThe paper compares samples recruited through (1) conventional and (2) MTurk methods to better understand how these samples contrast with one another and with national estimates of people with disabilities. MethodsIn 2019, researchers recruited 1374 participants through conventional methods and 758 through MTurk to complete the National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD). We analyzed sample differences between recruitment groups with t-tests, Chi-square, and logistic regression. ResultsWith the exception of race/ethnicity, the conventional and MTurk samples were significantly different on several dimensions including age, gender, education level, marital status, children living at home, and sexual orientation. The MTurk sample was overrepresented in lower income brackets. A significantly higher percentage of the conventional sample received SSI, SSDI, or both, compared to the MTurk sample (36.2% vs 12.8%) and had significantly higher rates of insurance coverage. Comparisons with American Community Survey data show that the conventional and MTurk samples aligned more closely with the general population of people with disabilities on different characteristics. ConclusionsMTurk is a viable complement to conventional recruitment methods, but it should not be a replacement. A combination of strategies builds a more robust dataset that allows for more varied examination of issues relevant to people with disabilities.

Creating opportunities for convivial encounters for people with intellectual disabilities: “It looks like an accident”

ABSTRACT Background: “Convivial encounter” provides a new lens for understanding social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, characterised by shared activity and friendly interactions with strangers without intellectual disabilities. Places, props and support practices facilitate incidental convivial encounters. This study explored processes for deliberately creating opportunities for such encounters. Methods: A case study design used mixed methods to collect data from two disability organisations about convivial encounters the people they supported experienced and staff practices that created these. Results: Most commonly convivial encounters created involved repeated moments of shared activity through which people became known by name by others without disabilities. Eight approaches and five processes were used to create these opportunities for encounter. Conclusions: The study provides a blueprint for scaling up or creating interventions to create opportunities for convivial encounters, and opens lines of enquiry about staff competences needed and parameters for costing this type of intervention.

An exploration of the organisational stressors encountered by international disability footballers

ABSTRACT Presently, disability athletes remain under-represented in organisational stressor research. Our study sought to bring novel insights to this area by determining the organisational stressors experienced by international disability footballers. Twelve current international disability footballers (10 male, 2 female) from a range of UK impairment squads took part in the study. Semi-structured interviews were completed with each participant, and data were analysed by content analysis procedures. Organisational stressors data were abstracted into Arnold, Wagstaff, Steadman and Pratt’s (2017) concepts, and Arnold and Fletcher’s (2012) four general dimensions: leadership and personnel issues, cultural and team issues, logistical and environmental issues, and performance and personal issues, revealing a series of football-specific nuances. Our study is the first exploration of the prevalence of organisational stressors within international disability football. Our study also provides practitioners with an understanding of the common and unique organisational stressors faced by international disability footballers. Finally, we suggest a series of practical recommendations for policy development within disability football organisations to aid athletes to effective manage organisational stressors.

“Why Can’t I Play?”: Transdisciplinary Learnings for Children with Disability’s Sport Participation

This article explores the constraints to mainstream sports participation of children with disability in community sports clubs and schools through their lived experiences and the perceptions of parents, teachers, coaches, and club officials. It does so by administering an open-ended survey instrument to a sample of participants recruited from schools, sporting facilities, and disability organizations in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. The data were analysed through a transdisciplinary conceptual framework which brought together the social model of disability (disability studies) with the leisure constraints framework (leisure studies), which have been encouraged by both academics and practitioners. The findings identified ableist and disablist practices, creating an enabled understanding of the facilitators for social inclusion. Participants perceived that interrelated intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints excluded children from their desired sporting activities. Through applying the social model of disability to the leisure constraints framework, the findings and discussion showed that a great deal of what had been considered intrapersonal constraints of the child with disability could be reinterpreted as interpersonal and structural constraints through enabling socially inclusive practices. The implications are that a social model of disability brings a new social lens to understanding constraints to sport participation for children with disability and can produce effective strategies for inclusion in sport at schools and community sport clubs.

Technology and accessibility in global governance and human rights: the experience of disability rights advocates

PurposeInternational organizations are working on an unprecedented number of development initiatives relevant to people with disabilities. This makes it essential for the global disability community to be able to participate effectively in the decision-making processes associated with these programs. In light of this, this study aims to explore whether information technologies can help create a more inclusive global governance, forming the basis for equitable development for people with disabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe results of a global survey of disabled people’s organizations’ (DPOs) leaders are discussed. This asked disability rights advocates about their experiences with accessibility and barriers to effective participation, low-cost accessible technological solutions for remote participation and freely available “off-the-shelf” online technologies – in particular social media platforms – to bridge the gap between the disability community and global governance processes.FindingsAlthough only a small number of international conferences offer accessible virtual participation through web conferencing and other tools, responses from DPO advocates suggest that there is a strong demand for this technology and provide evidence of its potential for improving accessibility in global governance. Furthermore, disability organizations all over the world have embraced social media platforms to liaise with their grassroots and enable them to part-take in policy-making processes.Originality/valueThis study highlights community-backed technological solutions to persisting barriers that systematically exclude people with disabilities from fundamental global governance processes, illuminating the nexus of disability, accessibility, and participation.

Peace News and Radical Disability Writing in 1970s Britain: Perceptions of Welfare and the Welfare State

The 1970s were an important decade for disability policy in Britain. The 1970 Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act promised services for all disabled people and a series of cash benefits appeared to comprise a national disability income. By the 1980s, however, these measures had failed, and some disabled people had taken radical stances against the perceived failures of capitalism. This article shows that radical views amongst disabled people began earlier and were more common than has been assumed. It examines Peace News, a prominent activist publication, as evidence of this phenomenon. Disabled people in the 1970s became radicalised in response to traditional failures of British welfare and recent failures of the welfare state. They self-identified as a minority group—alongside homosexuals and ethnic minorities—and fought against discrimination. Unlike major disability organisations in the 1970s, disabled people had a militant approach to improving their welfare and their position in the welfare state.

Development and implementation of a community-based research network.

People aging with long-term physical disabilities (PAwLTPD), meaning individuals with onset of disability from birth through midlife, often require long-term support services (LTSS) to remain independence. The LTSS system is fragmented into aging and disability organizations with little communication between them. In addition, there are currently no evidence-based LTSS-type programs listed on the Administration for Community Living website that have been demonstrated to be effective for PAwLTPD. Because of these gaps, we have developed a community-based research network (CBRN), drawing on the practice-based research network model (PBRN), to bring together aging and disability organizations to address the lack of evidence-based programs for PAwLTPD. Community-based organizations serving PAwLTPD across the state of Missouri were recruited to join the CBRN. A formative process evaluation of the network was conducted after a year to evaluate the effectiveness of the network. Nine community-based organizations across the state of Missouri joined the CBRN. CBRN members include three centers for independent living (CILs), three area agencies on aging (AAAs), one CIL/AAA hybrid, one non-CIL disability organization, and one non-AAA aging organization. To date, we have held seven meetings, provided educational opportunities for CBRN members, and launched an inaugural research study within the CBRN. Formative evaluation data indicate that CBRN members feel that participation in the CBRN is beneficial. The PBRN model appears to be a feasible framework for use with community-based organizations to facilitate communication between agencies and to support research aimed at addressing the needs of PAwLTPD.

The Ethics of Inclusion in AAC Research of Participants with Complex Communication Needs

If qualitative researchers in lifelong disability are to produce authentic findings on the experiences, perceptions and expectations of people with disabilities, research methods must include people with disabilities as participants. People with complex communication needs (CCN) are often excluded from participating in generic research, disability research and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) research because of negative assumptions by researchers, Human Research Ethics Committees [HRECs] and collaborating disability organisations about their cognitive capability and ability to consent to participation. Such attitudes disadvantage people with CCN, perpetuate their social exclusion and are a breach of human rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006). However, there are indications of improvements in ethical approaches to inclusive research that enable people with CCN to execute their right to be involved in research and have their voices heard.

Efficacy of a knowledge translation approach in changing allied health practitioner use of evidence-based practices with children with cerebral palsy: a before and after longitudinal study

Purpose To investigate the effect of a knowledge translation intervention on knowledge and frequency of routine evidence-based assessment behaviours of healthcare professionals working with children with cerebral palsy. Methods A before-and-after longitudinal study was conducted in five disability organisations. Four organisations (Commencing Knowledge Translation group) implemented a multifaceted intervention: knowledge brokers, targeted education, electronic-evidence library, and clinical outcomes database. These strategies were already in place at the fifth organisation (Comparison group). Outcomes evaluated at 0, 6, 12, and 24 months were health-professional knowledge and routine assessment behaviours (self-report and “completeness” of clinical assessment). Generalised estimating equations determined longitudinal changes. Results Four hundred and forty-seven professionals involved 861 children in the study. The Comparison group had higher knowledge and routine assessment behaviours at baseline. Professional knowledge in both groups remained stable (differences in change from baseline to 24 months: 0.3 units, 95%CI: −0.76 to 1.36). Assessment completeness of the Comparison group was stable (baseline mean 68 units, 95%CI: 65–71); the Commencing Knowledge Translation group improved from baseline mean 35 units (95%CI: 33–36), peaking at 12 months (mean 68 (95%CI: 65–71). Conclusions Multifaceted organisational support improved health-professional routine evidence-based assessment behaviours with children with cerebral palsy, despite no change in knowledge. Trial registration This trial was not a controlled health care intervention and was registered retrospectively: ACTRN12616001616460. The protocol of the trial was published in 2015 as follows: Imms et al. [6]. Implications for rehabilitation A multifaceted knowledge translation intervention increased allied health professionals’ assessment behaviours. Knowledge translation strategies can be chosen to target change in knowledge and/or change in behaviour. Knowledge translation interventions should be designed to address organisational barriers and enhance organisational supports. Interventions that target healthcare professionals’ behaviour directly can be effective even if their knowledge does not change.

Characteristics of Disability Leaders: An Atlantic Canada Profile


 
 
 Leadership in the nonprofit sector including the disability sector has changed with the growth of the neoliberal state with governments downloading their social policy implementation role to civil society actors. The competitive climate disability nonprofits now find themselves in calls into question the leadership and skills required of their leaders. Based on 58 semi-structured interviews, this article develops a profile of Atlantic Canadian disability organization leaders— executive directors and government disability program managers. It argues that existing leadership models insufficiently capture their operating logic and finds disability leaders increasingly transformed into a new entrepreneurial role, which challenges service provision for persons with disabilities.