Occupational Encounters: The Interpersonal Impact of Bus Drivers' Engagement With Disabled Passengers.
Bonnie Das Neves, Carolyn Unsworth
PMID 38515293WHAT IT FOUND
Disabled passengers described bus drivers as gatekeepers to community access.
Negative encounters involving denied boarding or unwanted physical contact led to reduced public transport use and social isolation. Positive encounters, such as drivers moving other passengers for priority seating, enabled inclusion. The contribution of any single factor cannot be separated.
Key findings
01Passengers reported that negative encounters with bus drivers, including being driven past or denied access, led to reducing or stopping public transport use, which contributed to social isolation.
02Bus drivers reported feeling conflicted between operator demands for timeliness and passenger needs for safety, with some drivers attempting to physically assist wheelchair users without consent due to a lack of training.
03Positive encounters, such as drivers moving non-disabled people out of priority seating, were reported by passengers as pivotal in improving their public transport experience and sense of inclusion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The I-PEOP Model is a prototype developed specifically for bus driver and passenger encounters; its applicability to other occupational contexts is untested. The study relies on self-reported attitudes and experiences, which may be subject to recall bias or social desirability. The data comes from two separate studies that were merged retrospectively for analysis, rather than a single integrated dataset. The findings reflect the Australian context and may not generalize to other transport systems or cultures.
Declared interests
The research was supported by non-U.S. government funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the I-PEOP Model is a validated tool for general clinical practice. It is a prototype created specifically to analyze bus driver and passenger interactions in this study, and the authors state that extensive further research is required to determine its relevance to other occupational encounters or relationships.