Individuals with disabilities and those who care for them are members of some of the UK’s most economically and socially disadvantaged populations. Difficulties in a person’s social and economic life can substantially impact their health. The definition of “disability” is a challenging problem that is constantly being revised. Definitions of disabilities are critical because they have immediate ramifications for the daily lives of persons with impairments (Emerson, 2021). They may, for example, decide who is eligible for particular benefits and programs, or they may change the rules and regulations governing such programs. People with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence and discrimination, to live in substandard or unsafe housing, to be socially excluded or disadvantaged, to have low levels of education and workforce participation, and to have difficulty obtaining appropriate medical care as a result of their impairment. They also have a more challenging time getting sufficient medical treatment.
The possibility of having a handicap is one of the features that define what it is to be human. It is caused by the interplay of several personal, environmental, and medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, blindness, and spinal cord injury. A substantial disability affects over 16% of the world’s population, or nearly 1.3 billion individuals today (Emerson, 2021). This figure is growing due to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and the fact that people live longer lives. A person’s sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, skin color, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, among other things, might influence how a person with a disability views life and their medical care needs. People with impairments generally have a shorter life expectancy than people without impairments and have more difficulty doing daily chores.
People with disabilities have lower education, employment, household resources, and general health levels than people without impairments. Long-delayed inquiries into wrongdoing must consider the health disparities that exist between those with disabilities and those who do not. These gaps in health are especially pronounced among people of color and other racial and ethnic minorities (Health, 2019). Even though disabled persons account for more than one-eighth of the population in the United Kingdom, they are rarely discussed in sociological studies that analyze inequality. In an era when society seeks to reduce disparities, healthcare practitioners can help close gaps in treating persons with disabilities by implementing various programs (Health, 2019). These initiatives may include transporting people with disabilities to various treatment facilities or referring them to professionals. People with disabilities must not only be taken into account but they must also be actively involved in efforts to end injustices from the start. Individuals with disabilities must be included in all discussions and activities to decrease health disparities. Inequalities between individuals with disabilities, particularly those from racial and ethnic minority groups, will persist if people with disabilities are not considered while debating potential solutions.
The disabled constitute a sizable proportion of the total population in the United States. Disabilities include cognitive ability, movement, sensory processing, communication, and mental health limitations. It is a common misperception that disabled people are also sick, despite the reality that there is no link between the two (Issues People with Disabilities Face in the Healthcare System, n.d.). However, the health status of people with disabilities and their counterparts who did not have impairments differed dramatically. People with disabilities are four times more likely than those without impairments to indicate that their health is only fair to the poor. Health disparities are avoidable differences in population health outcomes that are not caused by underlying medical illnesses and are linked to a history of poor social, economic, or environmental variables. These disparities in population health outcomes have been connected to a history of adverse social, economic, and environmental conditions.
A multimodal strategy that tackles, among other things, better access to medical treatment, health promotion, disease prevention, and the influence of social factors may be beneficial in the fight against various health problems that individuals with disabilities confront. People with disabilities will benefit from improved health outcomes and cheaper healthcare expenditures due to eliminating preventable health disparities (Issues People with Disabilities Face in the Healthcare System, n.d.). Because of the enormous number of disabled persons in the UK, efforts to remove health inequities could significantly impact the country’s economy and society. When it comes to accessing medical treatment, people with disabilities confront several problems. They have a decreased chance of receiving the primary medical care they require to be healthy. Despite having considerably greater health coverage than those without, people with disabilities are 2.5 times more likely to skip or delay medical care due to cost.
Individuals with impairments may put off getting necessary medical care due to the higher cost of having a disease. In addition, they may offer free medical and pharmaceutical care, accessible transportation, specialized equipment, and assistive technologies to carers. As a result, they may have less money available for copayments, deductibles, and so on. Based on the information, we may conclude that the overall health of people with disabilities is significantly worse than that of the general population (Pinilla-Roncancio, 2020). People with disabilities are forced to have specific health difficulties or limitations; hence diversity in health conditions is unavoidable. Nonetheless, the observed difference impacts aspects of health unrelated to the sickness or impairment produced by a handicap.
The treatment of people with disabilities is the primary cause of health disparities. Elements of construction Discrimination, stigma, and ableism hurt the physical and emotional health of disabled persons. Laws and regulations may limit their ability to make independent decisions and allow several damaging activities in the healthcare business, such as coerced hospitalization and treatment and even institutionalization (World Health Organization, 2021). Social factors that influence health include: People with disabilities are more likely to have poor health and unmet medical needs if they live in substandard housing, are denied education and employment opportunities, and are impoverished. People with disabilities must rely on family members to participate in community and health-related activities, which impacts both them and their caretakers (mostly women and girls).
Elements of danger People with disabilities are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and engage in insufficient physical activity, increasing the risk of noncommunicable diseases. They are constantly excluded from public health programs, which is a significant issue. Healthcare provision: The healthcare system is complicated for those with disabilities in every way. The health disparities in this group result from a lack of knowledge, bad attitudes, discriminatory practices, inaccessible health facilities and information, and a lack of data collection and analysis on impairments (Pinilla-Roncancio, 2020). People with impairments and their caregivers have lower employment rates, contributing to lower salaries and higher poverty rates. Employment is essential for social inclusion, self-sufficiency, and decision-making.
It has been shown that caregivers’ well-being, the lowest of any group in the United Kingdom, is linked to impairments caused by disability.
People with impairments are more likely than those without impairments to suffer from a chronic illness; as a result, many chronic disorders emerge early in their development (Health, 2019). Diabetes was more common in people with intellectual disabilities than in the general population in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, people with intellectual disabilities (ages 18 to 39) had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular illness than the overall population. Those with significant or severe disabilities are more likely to have hypertension than the general population. The employment rate for people with disabilities in the United Kingdom is only 50%, which is lower than the OECD average of 60%. In the United Kingdom, the unemployment rate for disabled people was higher than that of non-disabled people in 2009.
Women are less likely than men to be employed in the community of people with disabilities, with a participation percentage of 49% against 60%. Working persons are more likely than non-working people to have part-time jobs rather than full-time jobs (World Health Organization, 2021). Individuals working in assisted employment earn less than the general population. The average hourly gross wage for supported labor is $3.61, less than the United Kingdom’s minimum wage of $15.51. People with disabilities are more likely than those without impairments to live in poverty and earn less in the United Kingdom. Based on various indicators, their relative income is significantly lower than most other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. In 2003, persons with disabilities earned an average of $225 per week, compared to $480 for those who did not have impairments, while primary caretakers earned an average of $237 per week, compared to $407 for those who did not have this obligation (World Health Organization, 2021). Even with the same amount of education, those with disabilities earn less than those without impairments, implying that income inequality is caused by factors other than a lack of education.
In the United Kingdom, people with disabilities earn roughly 70% of what individuals without impairments earn. This is the lowest score among the OECD’s 27 member countries (Pinilla-Roncancio, 2020). In countries like Mexico, there are no economic inequalities between persons with and without disabilities. In the United Kingdom, the number of disabled people living in or near poverty has increased by 45 percent since the mid-1990s. People with impairments are less likely to be destitute in countries like Sweden.
Artefacts
Poverty and disability frequently coexist, depending on the individual and their social and demographic group. A person’s age, gender, kind and severity of the disability, country of residence, and risks of being poor and disabled are all directly related (or not). A country’s social, economic, and human growth affects the possibilities and quality of services for everyone, including those with disabilities (Pinilla-Roncancio, 2020). Nonetheless, the group has difficulty accessing services and opportunities due to social, physical, and emotional restrictions. People with impairments are more likely to be poor and socially isolated. This is especially true in industrialized countries, whose social structures are designed to absorb the additional expenditures associated with the handicap.
Artefact 2
According to this viewpoint, problems affect humanity, and individual imperfections are more critical than failing to meet particular demands. The model considers the impairment as an “abnormality” rather than a “normality.” People with disabilities are viewed as passive patients who require specialized, professional care to study, work and live. The medical paradigm of disability, central to the charity discourse, does not make disabled people feel better about themselves. Instead, it maintains them in a service position. Giving money to charity, according to Hevey, is “opium for the crippled.” This supports the notion that the medical paradigm has never correctly defined disability. The situation will not improve unless social structures and public attitudes toward people with disabilities change.
Artefact 3
The aged and disabled who live in nursing homes and institutions are especially susceptible because they may struggle to acquire proper medical treatment, keep themselves clean, and make friends. Some governments decide how much money should be spent on medical care based on assumptions about the quality or value of life-based on age or infirmity (Choudhary, 2020). The epidemic draws attention to how many people are left out while also exacerbating difficulties that individuals with disabilities already experience, such as poverty and a higher rate of being attacked, neglected, or abused.
References
Choudhary, P. K. (2020, May 7). UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Says 1B People With Disabilities Hard Hit By Virus | HealthWire. https://www.healthwire.co/un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-says-1b-people-with-disabilities-hard-hit-by-virus/
Emerson, E. (2021). Inequalities and Inequities in the Health of People With Intellectual Disabilities. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.326
Health. (2019). Disability Discrimination in Health Care. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. https://dredf.org/public-policy/health-access-to-care-old/disability-discrimination-in-health-care/
Issues People With Disabilities Face in the Healthcare System. (n.d.). Duquesne University School of Nursing. https://onlinenursing.duq.edu/post-master-certificates/disability-health-care-advocacy/
Pinilla-Roncancio, M. (2020). Disability and poverty: two related conditions. A review of the literature. Revista de La Facultad de Medicina, 63(3Sup), 113–123. https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v63n3sup.50132
World Health Organization. (2021, November 24). Disability and health. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health
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