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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Gloria L. Krahn, PhD, MPH, Oregon Institute on Disability & Development, Oregon Health & Science University, PO Box 574, Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, Portland, OR 97207-0574, (503)494-8364, krahng@ohsu.edu, Michelle Putnam, PhD, School of Social Work, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, MO 63108, Laurie E. Powers, PhD, OIDD-Center on Self-Determination, Oregon Health Sciences University, 3608 SE Powell Blvd., Portland, OR 97202, and Charles E. Drum, JD, PhD, Oregon Office on Disability and Health, Oregon Health & Science University, PO Box 574, Portland, OR 97207-0574.
There is need for a common national agenda to focus the disparate efforts across the country to approach health and wellness holistically to include the person, the provider and the policies that determine the social and environmental context. Competition among differing definitions and models have hampered study and intervention in the field of disability and wellness. It is time to clarify the definitions and models used, their underlying assumptions and values, and their relative utility for different purposes in order to develop effective practices and policies. Commonly competed models are the medical model, a public health model, and a civil rights model. Each model presumes differing definitions of disability, varying along dimensions of categorical or functional, diversity or devaluation, and individual or contextual as examples. Similarly, the general rubric of Ahealth and wellness@ is ascribed to a wide range of research and practice activities that range from Assistive Technology to Zen meditation. Inequities in health and wellness turn on three fundamental issues: opportunity, accessibility, and accountability. Opportunity addresses the availability of information and expertise; accessibility is the ability to access health care services and engage in wellness enhancing activities; and accountability relates to measurement and responsibility of people with disabilities, health care providers, and the related systems and policies that facilitate or present barriers to health and wellness. The disparities experienced by people with disabilities can only be reduced by addressing health and wellness needs within the person-provider-policy continuum.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, the participant will be able to
Keywords: Health Objectives, Disability Policy
Related Web page: www.healthwellness.org