Exploring issues relating to disability cultural competence among practicing physicians.
Nicole Agaronnik, Eric G Campbell, Julie Ressalam and 1 others
PMID 30765256WHAT IT FOUND
Physicians in interviews used outdated disability terms, spoke to caregivers instead of patients with intellectual disability, and described patients with disability as more challenging.
These themes describe physician attitudes, not tested interventions.
Key findings
01Physicians commonly used less culturally competent language, including handicap, wheelchair-bound, suffering from, mental retardation, and non-person-first terms.
02Participants described patients with disability as more challenging, expressed pity, and acted on assumptions such as speaking to caregivers instead of patients with intellectual disability.
03When defining disability, participants gave themes of activity limitations, need for accommodation, and patient self-identification, with several also referencing regulatory definitions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study interviewed only physicians, so it does not report therapist practice. It included only 20 physicians, so these are interview themes rather than evidence about a wider population. Partners HealthCare physicians were excluded, and the sample was not designed to represent each specialty or practice type. The physicians had an average of 27.4 years in practice, so their views may not match younger clinicians. Four participants had an informal acquaintance with the interviewer, which could have affected how openly they spoke. The paper reports physicians' perceptions and language, not patient outcomes or tested communication changes.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a funding or conflict-of-interest declaration. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that disability cultural competence training improves care or that therapists communicate similarly. The study only described 20 physicians' interview responses.