A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Individuals With Disabilities About Their Health Care Experiences: Implications for Culturally Appropriate Health Care

Purpose: This study explores the health care experience of individuals with disabilities and how this knowledge can guide health care professionals in providing effective and compassionate care for persons with disabilities. Methods: Participants' experiences about the health care they received were quantitatively analyzed for common themes. Results: Participants most often discussed the process of how they came to receive their official disability diagnosis. Another recurrent theme was disability etiology, in which participants described the events or process that resulted in a disability. Two other frequent themes, normality and others' perceptions of disability, centered upon what it means to be "normal" or others' assumptions about what it means to be "normal" (as opposed to having a disability). Family support and struggles, experiences with medical professionals and hospitals, and barriers to inclusion and accommodations were the other key themes. Conclusion: This study provides insights to aspects of living with a disability that individuals with disabilities felt were important for health care professionals to know. Being aware of these topics may help health care providers in establishing good communication with their patients who have a disability.