Assessment of Integration of Disability Content into Social Work Education

Disability Justice and the Americans with Disabilities Act: An Opportunity for Social Work

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 61 million Americans have a disability, which translates to about 26 percent of the national population. The most common types of disability are physical (13.7 percent), or those that impact mobility, and intellectual (10.8 percent), or those related to cognitive processing. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has reported that 32 percent of people in state prisons and 40 percent of people in county jails have at least one disability, rates that demonstrate alarming disproportionality. Yet the history of the disability rights movement, the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act for people with disabilities who are involved with the criminal justice system, and the implications of disability justice and critical disability theory for the field of social work are not well understood. The purpose of this article is to review these under-recognized topics and offer recommendations for addressing this neglected area of social work education, research, policy, and practice.

What should we teach about disability? National consensus on disability competencies for health care education

BACKGROUND

Health care providers are unprepared to meet the health needs of patients who have disabilities. Disability training is needed, yet there is little agreement about what should be taught.

OBJECTIVE

Establish a national consensus on what healthcare providers across disciplines need to know to provide quality care to patients with all types of disabilities (e.g., mobility, sensory, developmental, mental health).

METHODS

People with disabilities, disability advocates, family members of people with disabilities, disability and health professionals, and inter-disciplinary health educators systematically evaluated and provided feedback on a draft set of disability competencies. Based on this feedback, competencies were iteratively refined.

RESULTS

After two waves of feedback, six competencies, 49 sub-competencies, and 10 principles and values emerged that addressed topics such as respect, person-centered care, and awareness of physical, attitudinal, and communication health care barriers. An overwhelming majority (89%) agreed or strongly agreed that the disability competencies reflected the core understandings needed to provide quality care for patients with disabilities, were relevant across disability types (85%), and across health care disciplines (96%). Averaging evaluative feedback across competencies, participants reported that the competencies were important (98%) and clear (96%).

CONCLUSIONS

This consensus on what to teach is an important milestone in preparing a disability competent health care workforce. Future directions for research, training, and policy are discussed. When disability is included in health care education, the health care workforce will be prepared to deliver accessible, patient-centered, quality health care to patients with disabilities.

A call to action: Preparing a disability-competent health care workforce

People with disabilities make up the largest minority population in the country, yet our health care workforce is unprepared to meet their needs. Two initiatives - and the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education's Disability Competencies and the Resources for Integrated Care Disability-Competent Care model-provide essential tools to build a health care workforce prepared to meet the health needs of people with disabilities. We note gaps in health education and continuing education curricula, document barriers to progress, and demonstrate how the two initiatives offer a clear roadmap to effect systemic change. Finally, we issue a call to action for health care education, practice, and research to ensure a health care workforce prepared to provide quality health care to people with disabilities.