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Cross-Disability Experiences of Barriers to Health-Care Access

Consumer Perspectives

University School of Public Health, drainoni{at}bu.edu

Elizabeth Lee-Hood

University School of Public Health

Carol Tobias

University School of Public Health

Sara S. Bachman

University School of Public Health

Jennifer Andrew

Northeast Health Systems

Lisa Maisels

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

In this article, we present the results of a series of focus groups with people with disabilities, in which we took a cross-disability, lifespan perspective of disability. Consumers were asked about a broad set of barriers, such as problems with communication, transportation, and insurance, as well as about barriers related to physical accessibility. We used the Institute of Medicine's framework to categorize barriers as either structural, financial, or personal/cultural. Our results suggest that individuals with disabilities experience multiple barriers to obtaining health care and that these barriers are more pronounced for some types of health care than others. In addition, regardless of disability type, consumers consistently spoke about similar barriers. The results underscore the importance of taking a broad perspective when making policy decisions and the need for continued change and improvement in this area.

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