Disability Policy Research Articles

Autism and education—The role of Europeanisation in South‐Eastern Europe: Policy mapping in Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia

AbstractSouth‐Eastern Europe only recently was required to adapt their domestic law to adhere to European Union legislations and standards. As such, it forms an excellent case study on how and to what extent the ‘Europeanisation’ process is interacting with the development of special education needs (SEN) policy, particularly focusing on autistic children. This scoping review mapped autism and special education policies of Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia and investigated how Europeanisation interacted with autism and educational policy through a path dependence analysis. Our research shows that education for children with special needs started with segregation during communist time. EU accession since then has influenced disability policies and contributed to establishing inclusive education for all students. One particular Romanian policy resulted in children with special needs not having to compete with typical children for school submission. Ultimately, the majority of policies addressed special education needs in general. Only Romania adopted specific autism policy. Inclusive education is being developed in all countries.

Deconstruction of physical fitness assessment system and medical rehabilitation countermeasures for physically disabled teenagers with natural language processing technology.

Disability is a component of social relations and the existence of social reality. An effective solution to the problem of persons with disabilities is a measure of human civilization and social progress. The strength of the implementation of disability policy is the key to the realization of the original intention of “effectively solving the problem of disabled persons and promoting their development”. The purpose of this paper is to study the physical fitness evaluation system and medical rehabilitation strategies of physically handicapped adolescents with natural language processing technology. It mainly adopts literature research, interview and comparative analysis. Taking the rehabilitation policy for the disabled as the research starting point, the current situation of mental health of physically disabled adolescents will be examined, and the influence of physical exercise attitude and exercise level on mental health will be explored. And by comparing the difference in physical exercise level and mental health of physically handicapped youth and able-bodied youth, the effect of physical exercise on mental health of physically handicapped youth is further explained. This paper selects a total of 760 physically disabled students and able-bodied students from a secondary school as subjects, and uses research methods such as questionnaire survey and computer test to investigate the current situation of mental health of physically disabled adolescents and the relationship between physical exercise and mental health. The experimental results show that the spatiotemporal judgment experiment uses pixel difference as an indicator, and the judgment error of limb residual limbs is significantly larger than that of healthy limbs (p < 0.01). In the span of spatial location memory, the grades of the limb-restrained students were significantly lower than that of the able-bodied students (p < 0.05).

The Narratives of a Researcher with Disability as Interventions in Local Disability Policy-making.

This study examined the role of the narratives of a researcher in a residents' meeting on municipal disability policy. The research focuses on sessions from 2013 to 2019 of a local meeting spanning approximately 20years in Yao City, Osaka, western Japan. As an advisory staff member and researcher, I recorded the meetings and analyzed them through the KJ method (a bottom-up qualitative procedure developed in Japan) and text mining. As a result, I suggested that the annual symposium should be an opportunity to promote people's awareness of disability issues. Appropriate topics for the symposium were considered to be the Disability Discrimination Act and the hardships experienced by people with disability following a disaster, because these covered various aspects of their lives. I asked them to respect the diversity of their disabilities. I also remarked that they could support people with and without disabilities during a disaster. I assert that my role was to promote awareness and narratives in members about aspects of themselves about which they were unaware, such as their potential roles as supporters. However, they gradually recognized the uncertainty and new difficulties, which generated productive narratives.

The Personalisation of Social Care: How Can a Healthcare System Be Adapted to the Specific Characteristics of People with Multiple Impairments? The case of the care of people with “rare disabilities” in France

AbstractSince the 1980s, “personalisation” is at the centre of the evolution of disability policies and more generally of the Welfare state. It refers on one hand to the question of self-determination through the allocation of personalised budgets, and on the other to the adaptation of care to the specificities of a given person, through the development of “person-centred” care. In this article we study the issue of the personalisation of care from a point of view intermediate to these two dimensions, that of the transformation of social care organisations. Using the example of care provided to people with multiple impairments in France, we analyse how new social care organisations have addressed the diversity and specificity of the needs of these people. This analysis thus proposes a new way to think about the personalisation of policy responses implemented by the welfare state.

Promoting inclusive innovation for disabled people in four countries: who does what and why?

Disability policy is often characterized as comprising three different components: citizenship rights, labor market integration and social protection. In this study, we present a fourth component – disability-related innovation. Specifically we analyze two critical interrelated questions: what governments do to guide innovation in this area; and do patterns of greater government disability policy involvement in social-democratic welfare states apply in the case of innovation? Utilizing a qualitative comparison of Germany, Israel, Sweden and the United States, we find that while policy across all countries is at first glance decisively similar, the important differences that exist cannot be satisfactorily explained within the classical welfare state typology framework. Countries that are leaders in terms of social support for disabled people – Germany and Sweden – are not necessarily leaders in disability-related innovation. This is particularly noticeable in the case of programs for support of Assistive Technology development.

Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights

Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights

Barriers to disability‐inclusive employment in Uzbekistan: A pilot qualitative study of disabled people's lived experiences

AbstractDespite the recent advances in the field of protection of the rights of disabled people in Uzbekistan, their right to work and be protected from unemployment is not fully implemented. The reported levels of disability employment remain significantly low. The findings of this pilot qualitative study reveal that the current institutional framework which takes its roots in the Soviet disability policies coupled with environmental and attitudinal barriers is restricting disabled people's right to work. Based on the lived experiences of disabled people in Tashkent city and the Tashkent region this study calls for the removal of all the barriers.

Understanding Disability Policy Development: Integrating Social Policy Research with the Disability Studies Perspective

Studies on the development of social policies have provided us with a rich body of knowledge. However, being based mostly on class, gender or racial analysis, this body of work has seldom used disability as an analytical framework. This article proposes a systematic research agenda for addressing this lacuna. Drawing on the political and institutional approaches, this article illustrates how mainstream theories on social policy development cannot be assumed applicable to disability policies ‘as is’. To apply them effectively, we argue, students of social policy need to rework them in light of the insights of disability studies. Such conceptual work would involve closer attention to the uniqueness of disability as a socio-political category. Integrating these social policy theories with disability studies will allow us to better identify the unique political and institutional factors behind the trajectories of disability related policy. We conclude this discussion with suggestions for future research.

Disability Inclusion and Accessibility in Zimbabwe

The viewpoint explores challenges and opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in accessing public institutions in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in Zimbabwe. The study is based on the social model of disability, reinforced by the human rights perspective, which seek to meaningfully address issues bedevilling PWDs in their quest to be accorded the rightful place in the society, particularly in their access to public spaces. It further explains attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers. Qualitative research method was used, coupled with a few key informant interviews. The target population for this study were first and foremost PWDs. The study also targeted councillors, urban planners as well as administrators. Two subcategories of visually and physically impaired persons were carefully selected. The study findings indicated that attitudes and inadequate knowledge on disability by some community members and duty bearers also contribute to exclusion of Persons With Disabilities in public spaces. The study also found out that there are unfriendly facilities available. Additionally, the negative attitudes of stakeholders and administrative complications have deprived Persons With Disabilities from obtaining the benefits of available entitlements. Inadequate legislation, policy and lack of political will have also been established to be some of the factors leading to the side-lining of PWDs. The research recommends for creation of specific services in public spaces to support the needs of this group, integration of new technologies, and the domestication of the UNCRPD as well as the implementation of the disability policy, including best practices in disability inclusion, Specific policies should be supported by the allocation of funds and rigorous monitoring.&#x0D; &#x0D; Read the full article in accessible html-format here.

Starting with us: Imagining relational, co-designed policy approaches to improve healthcare access for rural people with disability.

Access to healthcare for rural Australians is a wicked problem, particularly for rural people with disability. Contemporary healthcare access frameworks in Australia tend to overlook geography, use a 'one-size-fits-all approach', and disregard the valuable relationships between key rural healthcare stakeholders, including rural people with disability, rural health services and health professionals. The United Nation's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires the Australian Government to engage people with disability in the design of policies that will shape their day-to-day lives, including their access to healthcare. However, the nature and extent to which rural people with disability, rural health professionals and other key rural stakeholders are involved in the design of Australian policies impacting the health of rural people with disability are unknown. This paper examines approaches taken to engage rural people with disability and health professionals in the design of Australian disability policy impacting healthcare access, and reimagines future processes which can improve healthcare access for rural people with disability. Co-design and ethics of care lenses are applied to policy design approaches in this paper. We approach this work as rural disability and health academics, rural health professionals, and as rural people with disability, neurodivergence and family members of people with disability. We argue future co-designed policy approaches could focus on driving change towards equity in healthcare access for rural people with disability by harnessing the relational nature of rural healthcare.

Twitter Sentiment Analysis of Long COVID Syndrome.

BackgroundLong COVID syndrome originated as a patient phrased terminology which was initially used to describe a group of vague symptoms that persisted after recovering from COVID-19. However, it has moved from a patient lingo to a recognized pathological entity which refers to a group of symptoms that lasts weeks or months after the COVID-19 illness. The novelty of this condition, the inadequacy of research on long COVID syndrome, and its origin as a patient-coined terminology necessitated exploring the disease's sentiments and conversations by analyzing publicly available tweets.MethodTweets were extracted using the Twarc2 tool for tweets in the English language with the keywords (long COVID syndrome, long COVID, post-COVID syndrome, post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, long-term COVID, long haulers, and chronic COVID syndrome) between March 25, 2022, and April 1, 2022. The analyses included frequency of the keywords, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling to identify and explore discussion topics over time. A natural language approach and the latent Dirichlet allocation algorithm were used to determine the most shared tweet topics, categorize clusters, and identify themes based on keyword analysis.ResultsThe search yielded 62,232 tweets. The tweets were reduced to 10,670 tweets after removing the duplicates. The vast majority of the tweets originated from the United States of America (38%), United Kingdom (30%), and Canada (13%), with the most common hashtags being #longcovid (36%) and #covid (6.36%), and the most frequently used word being people (1.05%). The top three emotions detected by our analysis were trust (11.68%), fear (11.26%), and sadness (9.76%). The sentiment analysis results showed that people have comparable levels of positivity (19.90%) and negativity (18.39%) towards long COVID.ConclusionsOur analysis revealed comparable sentiments about long COVID syndrome, albeit slightly positive. Most tweets connoted trust (positive), fear (negative), and sadness (negative). These emotions were linked with concerns about the infection, pandemic, chronic disability, and governmental policies. We believe this study would be important in guiding information dissemination and governmental policy implementation necessary in tackling long COVID syndrome.

Assessing Africa Readiness to Host Travelers with Disabilities: A Review of Accessible Accommodation Studies in African Countries

Even though Africa has been involved in the movement towards protecting the rights of disabled people, the emerging market is still under-served. Despite having multiple tourist attractions, the continent has not fully implemented its tourism and disability policies to make sure that barrier-free accommodation services are offered to disabled guests. The purpose of this study was to review and analyze studies done on the accommodation sector in African countries and to establish the extent to which the existing accommodation establishments were user-friendly to disabled people. Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, and science direct were used to generate academic journals. Two main themes mainly demand and supply was developed from the content analysis. On the demand side, quality of services and user-friendly services were the main challenges limiting the accommodation sector from offering barrier-free services to disabled guests while on the supply side, accessible room facilities were seen as a critical issue. Hotel service providers needed to make sure that there were accessible facility in bar and restaurant including ramps, elevators, hearing aids, leveled access routes as well as spacious rooms to host disabled guests. Provision of barrier-free services as recommended in the social disability model would be possible if service providers were willing to change their attitude regarding disability. Once the attitude is changed then it would be easy to resolve the structural and communication barriers.

Strategies for Implementation of Disability Mainstreaming Policies in Public Libraries, in Reference to Kenya National Libraries, Meru, Kisumu and Nakuru Branches

Persons living with disabilities numbers (PWDs) is growing globally (WHO, 2011). According to research conducted by Kenya National Survey for people with disabilities, indicate prevalence of disability as 4.6 percent. Visual, physical, hearing, and mental disabilities are the most common. In 2008,the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was enforced as disabled persons were experiencing discrimination in absorption to employment and promotion rates, remuneration and access to training, credit facilities and other resources and this led to their rare participation decision making in economic concerns. With the provision of a paradigm shift by UN Convention's, PWDs are now seen as persons capable of asserting their rights, making decisions based on free and informed consent, and participating fully in society. Disability mainstreaming issues have recently gained more attention around the world, with efforts to integrate people with disabilities critical to achieving the United Nations SDG and Kenya Vision 2030. Despite Kenya Government’s efforts in developing policies, constitution and regulations provisions in protecting persons living with disabilities, they still face problems associated with marginalization in Kenya. Many public institutions’ areas of service are not disable friendly facilities. The crux of this study therefore is to investigate strategies for implementation and mainstreaming of disability policies in public libraries. The study shall investigate existing government policies, management commitment, resource allocation, challenges experienced and possible solutions. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected using descriptive research design. The study was carried out at the Meru, Kisumu and Nakuru, Kenya National Library Services branches. Stratified and Purposive sampling was used in selecting respondents from different sections and departments. Questionnaires were used as data collection instruments, as well as document analysis and observation schedules. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used in analysis and graph generation.

“No Alcohol, No Risk. #FASD”– Twitter Activity on Alcohol and Pregnancy among Australian Organizations

Objective: Research has suggested that information communicated by public health and industry-funded organizations differ, as organizations linked to industry have tended to downplay risks with alcohol more broadly and pregnancy specifically. There is limited knowledge of how alcohol use in pregnancy and associated risks are communicated on social media in Australia. This study set out to describe communication of health risks associated with alcohol use during pregnancy on Twitter by Australian-based organizations and stakeholders. Methods: We searched for “alcohol” and “pregnancy”, “pregnant”, or “FASD” on Twitter accounts belonging to potentially relevant organizations, of which 17 had tweeted on the topic. Content analysis was undertaken on all tweets and summarized under eight themes. Results: A total of 347 tweets were identified, posted between 2010 and 2019 mainly by public health and disability nongovernmental organizations. Tweets generally focused on FASD, but other potential consequences of maternal alcohol use were infrequently mentioned and tended to be generic. We found infrequent mentions of direct advice around alcohol use during pregnancy and official guidelines. Overall, tweets reflected ongoing policy debates in Australia – including alcohol warning labeling, disability policy and increased activity was seen particularly before the second parliamentary inquiry into FASD. Conclusions: The limited number of tweets from relevant organizations over a nine-year period suggests focus has been on FASD while less discussion of alcohol use during pregnancy was evident. We identified an opportunity for more and consistent communication of trusted national health guidance.

The Impact of Osteoporotic Fractures on Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Work Disability

Osteoporosis is the one of most common chronic metabolic bone disease, which is characterized by increased bone fragility, which is highly affected by age and menopause.1 According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, one in three women over the age of 50 experience at least once in a lifetime a fracture as a result of osteoporosis, which on another hand is a cause for work disability.2,3&#x0D; Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the economic and social impact of work disability, caused by fractures as a result of osteoporosis on patients with RA.&#x0D; Material and Methods: The study included 50 patients, diagnosed with RA and osteoporosis, which have had at least one fracture during their course of disease. The data were obtained in the Regional Hospital of Elbasan and the main focus was the duration of work disability.&#x0D; Results: The research concluded that approximately 20% of the patients required a long term disability benefit after suffering a fracture. Furthermore, the majority of the patients were reluctant to go back to work after suffering the consequences of the fracture, mainly due to pain and inability to properly move.&#x0D; Conclusion: Fractures due to osteoporosis on patients with RA have an increasing impact in work disability and life quality. The majority of the patients taken into research have benefited from work disability policies, whether short or long-term.

Coordination of health and rehabilitation services for person with disabilities in Sierra Leone – a stakeholders’ perspective

Purpose To explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the coordination of health and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone. Materials and methods A qualitative study including seven focus group discussions with health, rehabilitation, and disability organisations stakeholders in Sierra Leone. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Results One theme emerged; poor governance in implementing disability policies, healthcare, and rehabilitation services, which included seven subthemes: insufficient implementation of healthcare policies for persons with disabilities; changes, lack of coordination and communication between ministries governing disability policies and rehabilitation services; need for accurate disability data and clinical record keeping; absence of funds and poor political priority to healthcare and rehabilitation services; continuous support for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide healthcare and rehabilitation service delivery; lack of coordination between different healthcare and rehabilitation service providers and calling for increasing persons with disabilities capacity for greater inclusion in society. Conclusions Increasing governmental prioritisation, and ensuring coordination and trust between donors, NGOs, and governmental programmes were keys for sustainable health and rehabilitation services. Stakeholders need to ensure national coverage and equally distributed health and rehabilitation services. Including rehabilitation services and assistive technology in the Free Healthcare Initiative would contribute to implementing the Disability Act. Implications for rehabilitation Political prioritisation of persons with disability (PWD) need to increase to provide national coverage and equally distributed health and rehabilitation services for PWD. To ensure access to rehabilitation services and access to basic assistive technology for PWD, the government of Sierra Leone could agree on basic rehabilitation services and a priority list of assistive devices to be distributed through rehabilitation centres and funded by the Free Health Care Initiative programme or the Sierra Leone health insurance scheme. To increase access to health services for PWD, the government of Sierra Leone could ensure inclusion of PWD in the Free Health Care Initiative programme. The government, donors, and organisations providing or funding health and rehabilitation services for PWD need to mobilise and coordinate resources better and be mutually held accountable to maximise the benefits of PWD resources.

The relationship between disability and inclusion policy and sports coaches’ perceptions of practice

ABSTRACT The present study explored how disability-inclusive policies (e.g., the 7 Pillars of Inclusion and the Inclusive Swimming Framework) were enacted in practice by eight swimming coaches in Australia. The purpose of this study was to explore how these individual coaches experienced including disabled athletes within their practice and how they balanced elite- and mass-participation objectives. Coaches in this study worked in a variety of settings as either full-time employees of a swimming club, independent contractors, or employees of private schools that ran school and community swimming programmes. Theoretical concepts of policy enactment, drawn from policy sociology in education, guided the analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with coaches. Participants reported coaching individuals competing at the state, national, and international level. Findings showed that coaches in this study ignored, adjusted, and re-worked official policies so they would fit with the contextual and cultural constraints of their organisations. Coaches were generally ambivalent towards people with disabilities; however, all were ‘willing and able’ to work with disabled athletes. Furthermore, findings indicated that the disconnect between coach development and inclusion policy development at Australian Swimming is effecting coaches, as these coaches did not see the promotion of inclusion as part of their coaching role. Therefore, it is posited that disability education should be included within broader coach education and development curriculum in line with broader governmental and Australian Swimming inclusion policy agendas aimed at improving participation of people with disabilities in sport. Implications for research, educators, and policy are discussed.

The work disability trap: manifestations, causes and consequences of a policy paradox

Purpose This article focuses on the risk that work disability policies lock people into work disability rather than promote durable health and return to work. We outline the concept of a work disability trap as a heuristic device to explore this policy paradox inherent in the design of most social insurance systems. Materials and methods This is a conceptual paper drawing on examples from existing research. Results We identify three manifestations of the disability trap: not overcoming disability; underperforming; and returning to work prematurely. The causes of these manifestations are identified as structural rather than based on malingering clients, while negative consequences are identified both on client and system levels. Conclusion We emphasize the need for systems built on trust and reasonable expectations, and the need for providing rehabilitation support independently of economic compensation. Universal basic income is introduced as a potential tool to ameliorate some of the consequences of the disability trap. Implications for rehabilitation Compensation systems focusing too prominently on early return to work may have counter-productive effects on rehabilitation. Overly suspicious assessment systems nurture a view of people as malingerers. Rehabilitation professionals need to be attentive to system-generated effects which may prevent overcoming work disability.

Threats to valuing diverse voices in public debates about disability. A case study from social media*

This study aimed to highlight the threats that use of social media poses to valuing diverse voices and different kinds of expertise about disability in public debates by exploring how disability advocates responded on social media to the evidence presented by researchers to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Data were collected from the social media platform Twitter during the first week of Public Hearing 3 of the Royal Commission in December 2019. Tweets by 48 individuals and 27 representatives of advocacy groups who were not described as academic researchers in their Twitter profile were collected, anonymised, and coded using template analysis techniques. Findings showed that social media commentators were critical of the presence and participation of researchers in the Commission hearings and questioned the legitimacy of their research methods and findings. These commentators stated that researchers should not speak “for” or “about” people with disabilities and rejected evidence that did not resonate with their own individual experience. For the Commission to deliver meaningful recommendations to improve the disability sector, disability policy and the lives of people with disabilities, it is important to value both stories of lived experience and rigorous research evidence. Public discourse that undermines the relationships between researchers and disability self-advocates and advocates may be unhelpful for future collaboration on the development of better policy and practice.

Comparison of Permanent Physical Impairment Ratings According to Government of India Disability Evaluation Guidelines Version 2001 and 2018

Background: Disability policies across the world depend on a complex process called disability assessment which serves as a basis for determining eligibility for disability benefits. Disability evaluation and impairment ratings are conceptually different, but impairment evaluation is done as a proxy for disability estimation. The impairment rating guidelines issued by the Government of India serve various purposes such as employment reservation benefits, disability pension schemes, tax exemptions, transport concessions, healthcare provisions, provision of assistance aids, compensation in medico-legal cases, etc. The 2018 guidelines have some modifications from the previous 2001 version. Aperson with equal to or more than 40% rating has benchmark disability and is eligible for disability benefits. The newer guidelines have expanded with the inclusion of new disability categories and the new rating methods. However, there is a lack of evidence-based data on how these new changes affect the severity of ratings and percentage calculation. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the agreement between the two guidelines. Methods: It was a hospital-based observational study constituting 288 participants with locomotor disability. Results: There was a strong agreement between the two guidelines for the severity of impairment ratings and detection of benchmark disability for neurological as well as musculoskeletal disorders(interclass correlation coefficient=0.97, P ≤0.001). Conclusion: The strong agreement between the two guidelines indicates that both guidelines have similar and comparable scales in commonly used categories for disability evaluation overall. Further research is required on various subcategories of disability.