Ethnicity, socioeconomic class, or disability-related health inequalities are serious problems in medicine, regardless of the cause. Resolving such disability inequalities is the key to providing a fair and inclusive healthcare service. This essay delves into disability disparities, drawing insights from the article “Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities: a global scoping review on Barriers and Interventions in healthcare services.” Furthermore, the essay will also examine nursing care interventions (especially using Lewis’s model) to reduce these disparities and improve positive outcomes for patients. In addition, the discussion will also focus on prejudices that may block other minorities from care.
In the article, the author has conducted a global scoping assessment on solutions and impediments to disability-related healthcare services, exploring many facets using first-hand field surveys. According to Gréaux et al. (2023), appreciating these differences is crucial for creating intervention policies that achieve health equality. The article carries out a global scoping review of the challenges that disabled people face worldwide. This disability disparity is but one aspect of the broader issue. The parts and whole How much do you know about inequitable healthcare coverage for disabled people in other countries? From systemic obstacles to cultural perspectives, the author carefully explores factors explaining these differences in healthcare services for people with disabilities.
There are several things I can do as a nurse to deal with inequalities and work for the best possible results using Lewis ‘model. Firstly, I will use critical thinking and cultural understanding to understand each patient’s situation. This includes working actively with patients and their families and building mutual trust to learn about these peoples’ attitudes toward health. Further, I would promote social justice by pointing out other structures behind inequalities, such as the availability and quality of healthcare resources. I will also humanize medicine by educating patients to be active participants in their treatment plans so that they can make decisions about the course of medical care (Harrison et al., 2021). Finally, I would work with interdisciplinary healthcare teams and various community groups to advocate for fairness in providing care and adopt evidence-based practices that have been proven effective at minimizing disparities while encouraging patient participation by aiming sustainably toward equitable (fair) treatment.
Biases serve as obstacles to care for culturally marginal groups. These biases could come from stereotypes, prejudices, or a lack of understanding and awareness about the cultures involved (Kersey-Matusiak, 2019). This goes for everything involving disability culture, too. Such biases can obstruct communication and cause misunderstandings between healthcare providers and patients. Nurses must be vigilant about their prejudices and continually strive to overcome them. Cultural awareness, knowledge, and experience can be gained through cultural competence education, allowing nurses to give fair treatment irrespective of whether the patient is disabled or not.
In conclusion, the article points out disability gaps in medical services and the obstacles disabled people must overcome. These disparities should not be overlooked! As a nurse, it is essential to work toward positive outcomes by making systems, cultures, and biases more accessible while shining the light of advocacy on them. If nurses adopt this model of cultural competence, then they can treat individuals with disabilities from different backgrounds fairly and respectfully.
References
Kersey-Matusiak, G. (2019). Delivering culturally competent nursing care: working with diverse and vulnerable populations. Springer Publishing Company.
Gréaux, M., Moro, M. F., Kamenov, K., Russell, A. M., Barrett, D., & Cieza, A. (2023). Health equity for persons with disabilities: a global scoping review on barriers and interventions in healthcare services. ProQuest, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-02035-w
Harrison, R., Fischer, S., Walpola, R. L., Chauhan, A., Babalola, T., Mears, S., & Le-Dao, H. (2021). Where Do Models for Change Management, Improvement, and Implementation Meet? A Systematic Review of the Applications of Change Management Models in Healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, Volume 13(13), 85–108. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7966357/
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