Theories of disability in health practice and research

MICHAEL J. OLIVER

154 citations0/0 files storedBMJ

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Disability Rights and Representation Medical Practices and Rehabilitation Medicine, History, and Philosophy

Abstract

This is the fifth in a series of six articles on the importance of theories and values in health research All health care and research are influenced by theories. This paper considers the influence of implicit and explicit theories1 on interventions and research on disabled people. Another important influence is the experience of disabled people, and their increasing insistence that their voices be heard at all stages of research about their lives.2 ### Summary points The health care that disabled people receive is influenced by theories Positivist theory remains the dominant influence on health care given to disabled people Other theories are beginning to have a significant influence The rise of these theories is posing important questions for health care and research Over the past 20 years, writings by disabled people have transformed our understanding of the real nature of disability. They move beyond the personal limitations that impaired individuals may face, to social restrictions imposed by an unthinking society. Disability is understood as a social and political issue rather than a medical one, and this leads to critical questioning of medical interventions:attempts to cure impairments or to restore “normal” bodily functioning. Instead, social and political solutions are sought, to challenge disabling discrimination. This radically different view is called the social model of disability, or social oppression theory.3While respecting the value of scientifically based medical research, this approach calls for more research based on social theories of disability if research is to improve the quality of disabled people's lives. Definitions are central to understanding theories of impairment and disability.4 In 1986 Disabled Peoples International made a clear distinction:impairment is the functional limitation within the individual caused by physical, mental or sensory impairment; disability is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of …

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 154 citations exist upstream.

References

1951The Social System 1990The Politics of Disablement 1992Changing the Social Relations of Research Production?1987The Concept of Oppression and the Development of a Social Theory of Disability 1996Disability Politics: Understanding Our Past, Changing Our Future 2017Defining Impairment and Disability: issues at stake 1991Disabled people in Britain and discrimination: A case for anti-discrimination legislation 2017The Making of Blind Men

Cited by

2010Landscapes of care 2019Unconscious bias and the medical model: How the social model may hold the key to transformative thinking about disability discrimination 2018Models of Disability and Human Rights: Informing the Improvement of Built Environment Accessibility for People with Disability at Neighborhood Scale?2005It takes two to tango: the integration of people with disabilities into society 2021Missing Pieces: Engaging Sociology of Disability in Medical Sociology 2012

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.