Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA.
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Disabil Health J. 2018 Jul;11(3):382-389. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2017.12.010. Epub 2017 Dec 30.
Significant disparities in health care access and quality persist between persons with disabilities (PWD) and persons without disabilities (PWOD). Little research has examined recommendations of patients and providers to improve health care for PWD.
We sought to explore patient and health care provider recommendations to improve health care access and quality for PWD through focus groups in the physical world in a community center and in the virtual world in an online community.
In all, 17 PWD, 4 PWOD, and 6 health care providers participated in 1 of 5 focus groups. Focus groups were conducted in the virtual world in Second Life with Virtual Ability, an online community, and in the physical world at Agape Community Center in Milwaukee, WI. Focus group data were analyzed using a grounded theory methodology.
Themes that emerged in focus groups among PWD and PWOD as well as health care providers to improve health care access and quality for PWD were: promoting advocacy, increasing awareness and knowledge, improving communication, addressing assumptions, as well as modifying and creating policy. Many participants discussed political empowerment and engagement as central to health care reform.
Both PWD and PWOD as well as health care providers identified common themes potentially important for improving health care for PWD. Patient and health care provider recommendations highlight a need for modification of current paradigms, practices, and approaches to improve the quality of health care provision for PWD. Participants emphasized the need for greater advocacy and political engagement.
残疾人和非残疾人之间在医疗保健的获取和质量方面仍然存在显著差异。很少有研究探讨患者和提供者的建议，以改善残疾人的医疗保健。
我们通过在社区中心的实体世界和在线社区的虚拟世界中的焦点小组，探索患者和医疗保健提供者的建议，以改善残疾人的医疗保健获取和质量。
共有 17 名残疾人和 4 名非残疾人以及 6 名医疗保健提供者参加了 5 个焦点小组中的 1 个。焦点小组在虚拟世界中的 Second Life with Virtual Ability 在线社区和威斯康星州密尔沃基的 Agape 社区中心的实体世界中进行。使用扎根理论方法分析焦点小组数据。
残疾人和非残疾人以及医疗保健提供者在焦点小组中提出的改善残疾人医疗保健获取和质量的主题包括：促进倡导、提高意识和知识、改善沟通、解决假设以及修改和制定政策。许多参与者讨论了政治赋权和参与是医疗保健改革的核心。
残疾人和非残疾人以及医疗保健提供者都确定了一些可能对改善残疾人医疗保健有重要意义的共同主题。患者和医疗保健提供者的建议强调需要修改当前的模式、实践和方法，以提高为残疾人提供医疗保健的质量。参与者强调需要更多的倡导和政治参与。
