Disability Cultural Competence in the Medical Profession

Authors

Mary Crossley, University of Pittsburgh School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

People with disabilities make up 19% of the U.S. population, and many of them are heavier consumers of health care than people without disabilities. Yet relatively few physicians – the persons responsible for providing medical care to this significant fraction of the patient population – have disabilities themselves, and the percentage of medical students with disabilities is even smaller. This Essay highlights how the relative rareness of doctors with disabilities may contribute to a generally low level of understanding within the medical profession of the social context of disability and how non-medical factors affect the health of people with disabilities. This lack of understanding, in turn, contributes to less effective medical care for people with disabilities. Better educating medical students and doctors about the disability experience by treating disability as an element of cultural competence could produce benefits on two fronts. First, by equipping doctors to provide the culturally competent and accessible services that people with disabilities need, it could help mitigate the health and health care disparities that group experiences. Second, expanding the medical profession’s understanding of disability could, over time, lead to more accessible programs of medical education and more accommodating health care employment settings, thus smoothing the path for more people with disabilities to enter the medical profession. This Essay first describes the concept of cultural competence and its place within medical education and considers briefly whether a “disability culture” exists and should be an element of cultural competence training for doctors. It proceeds to review some recent signs of progress, including increased attention to the health and health care disparities experienced by people with disabilities and expanding discussions about health care providers’ role in addressing these disparities. Moreover, some medical educators have begun developing curricula that emphasize competencies doctors need to care effectively for people with disabilities. The Essay concludes by suggesting how disability cultural competence education may both benefit patients with disabilities and contribute to increased representation of people with disabilities within the medical profession.

Recommended Citation

Mary Crossley, Disability Cultural Competence in the Medical Profession, 9 Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy 89 (2015).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/fac_articles/34