HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCES FOR PEOPLE WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Abstract

This research will address how health outcomes can improve for adults with cerebral palsy by evaluating their experiences in the healthcare setting. The focus will be on patient-provider interaction, and specifically how provider attitudes and knowledge of disability affect care. Important factors to consider are conceptualizations of disability (i.e., social and medical models of disability) and how stigma shapes perception and treatment. Any intervention to improve healthcare experiences for people with cerebral palsy should address disability stigma and the complex physical and cognitive effects unique to cerebral palsy. The questions addressed in this research include: ● What is disability stigma? ● What is the difference between impairment and disability? ● How do we define and conceptualize disability, disabled people, and the disability experience? ● What is cerebral palsy physiologically? ● How do patients with cerebral palsy define their experience with healthcare providers? ● What prior programs have been implemented that are designed to improve relations between providers and disabled people? ● How can this information be applied to remove physical, cognitive, and attitudinal barriers in the healthcare setting?