Perceptions of Paratransit Accessibility Among Persons With Disabilities: An Adapted Photovoice Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-779
Author(s):  
Kathleen C. Sitter ◽  
Jennifer Mitchell

This article describes an adapted photovoice study that explored the facilitators and barriers to accessing paratransit services among people with disabilities. This 18-month study involved adults with disabilities developing photovoice stories about their paratransit experiences in Eastern Canada. The photovoice stories represent an in-depth examination of the familial, social, geographical, and environmental factors and their complex association with paratransit services. Distributing the photovoice stories through social media also served as a practical application of health promotion as the process allowed for a broader audience reach to bear witness to the experiences of participants from the disability community. Discussion includes recommendations for developing and sustaining responsive paratransit services with the assertion that persons with disabilities are at the forefront in making informed changes and improvements in ensuring transportation is accessible for everyone.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Rizki Saga Putra ◽  
Yuni Novianti Marin Marpaung ◽  
Yudha Pradhana ◽  
Muhammad Ramelan Rimbananto

Being considered equal to normal people in general is a dream that people with disa-bilities really want to realize. The public's view of disability has constructed the stig-ma that people with disabilities are unable to move like normal people specifically relating to physical exercise.. The difficulty of dismantling the stigma that is already inherent and generalizing persons with disabilities with physical disability or mal-function becomes a particular challenge faced by persons with disabilities as a mi-nority group. This paper uses the constructivist paradigm as a point of view in look-ing at understanding the complexity of social construction. The phenomenological method used in this study will explore the perspective of individuals with disabilities through self-concept "me" as an object that is the result of community construction, try to be replaced with "I" as a subject that is reconstructed through the help of so-cial media with self-actualization amid physical limitations which is owned. This study found that messages through social media that contain hopes and big dreams which imply that people with disabilities also have physical abilities and expertise equivalent to normal people in general. Various attempts were made, even more so by utilizing social media as a means of proving to the world about "This Is Me"and “I Can Do Anything


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Blake Huer ◽  
Travis T. Threats

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) 2001 International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) has as one of its central tenets the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. It acknowledges the need for medical and rehabilitation intervention in its biopscychosocial framework. However, the WHO realizes that society must do its part to facilitate this full participation and empowerment. Persons with complex communication needs (PWCCN) often need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in order to express themselves. However, in order to access and successfully use AAC, PWCCN need access to the necessary AAC devices and services, as well as a willing society to interact with them as full contributing members of society. The factors outside of a person's specific physical and/or cognitive functional limitations are addressed in the ICF via the Personal and Environmental Factors. Personal Factors include the individual's personality traits, lifestyle, experiences, social/educational/professional background, race, gender, and age. Environmental Factors include community support systems, social service agencies, governments, social networks, and those persons that interact with the PWCCN. This article addresses the sociopolitical influences on PWCCN and their functioning from a human rights perspective. The necessary introspective role of speech-language pathologists in this process is explored.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Vareda ◽  
T Garcia ◽  
J Rachadell

Abstract Background From disease prevention to health promotion, communication is key for Public Health (PH) practice and, according to the 9th Essential Public Health Operation its goal is to improve populations health literacy and capacity to access, understand and use information. Though social media is frequently presented as a potentially useful tool for PH communication, there is a lack of evidence about its effectiveness and impact on PH outcomes. This study researches Instagram® as a PH tool and aims to know who is using it, what content is shared on the platform and how much engagement there is. Methods This cross-sectional study regards information on 1000 Instagram® posts with the hashtags publichealth, publichealthpromotion, healthpromotion, publichealthmatters and publichealtheducation. Authors categorized post content and creators, and reviewed the number of likes and comments per post to determine engagement. Data analysis was performed on IBM SPSS® Statistics. Results The most common content categories were communicable diseases (n = 383), non-communicable diseases (n = 258) and healthy lifestyles (n = 143). Health professionals post more about communicable diseases (43,6%) and non-professionals about healthy lifestyles (36,1%). Non-professionals (n = 191) post about PH issues almost as much as health professionals (n = 220) and PH associations (n = 201). Most don't reference their sources (n = 821). Posts on communicable diseases have the most likes and comments per post (mean of 172 likes and 3,1 comments). Conclusions Half the Instagram® posts analysed in this study were made by health professionals or organizations. Communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and healthy lifestyles were the most frequent content categories and had the most engagement. The majority of posts didn't reference their sources. Though Instagram® seems to be a potential PH communication tool, further research is needed to confirm its benefits for PH. Key messages Social media platforms like Instagram® are potentially powerful tools for PH communication. There is a need to understand the efficacy of social media as health promotion tools.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110257
Author(s):  
Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽  
Jennifer (M.I.) Loh

With the advent of telecommunication technologies and social media, many health care professionals are using social media to communicate with their patients and to promote health. However, the literature reveals a lacuna in our understanding of health care professionals’ perception of their behavioral intentions to use innovations. Using the Unified Technology Acceptance Framework (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Australian health care experts to uncover their intent and actual use of social media in their medical practices. Results revealed that social media tools offered five significant benefits such as (i) enhanced communication between health care professionals and their patients, (ii) community support, (iii) enabled e-learning, (iv) enhanced professional network, and (v) expedited health promotion. However, result also revealed barriers to social media usage including (i) inefficiency, (ii) privacy concerns, (iii) poor quality of information, (iv) lack of trust, and (v) blurred professional boundary. Peer influence and supporting conditions were also found to be determinants of social media adoption behaviors among health care professionals. This study has important implications for health care providers, patients, and policy makers on the responsible use of social media, health promotion, and health communication. This research is also among the very few studies that explore Australian health care professionals’ intent and actual use of innovations within a health care setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Kagawa ◽  
◽  
Shota Uchida ◽  
Daishi Yamazaki ◽  
Yumiko Osawa ◽  
...  

AbstractEnvironmental factors promote symbiosis, but its mechanism is not yet well understood. The alga Pseudocladophora conchopheria grows only on the shell of an intertidal gastropod Lunella correensis, and these species have a close symbiotic relationship which the alga reduces heat stress of the gastropod. In collaboration with general public, we investigated how environmental conditions alter the symbiotic interaction between the alga and the gastropod. Information about the habitats of each gastropod and images of shells was obtained from the Japanese and Korean coasts via social media. We constructed the hierarchical Bayesian model using the data. The results indicated that the proportion of shell area covered by P. conchopheria increased as the substrate size utilized by the gastropod increased. Meanwhile, temperature did not affect the proportion of P. conchopheria on the shell. These suggested that the alga provides no benefits for the gastropod on small substrates because gastropod can reduce the heat stress by diving into the small sediment. Further, the gastropod’s cost incurred by growing the alga on the shell seems to be low as the algae can grow even in cooler places where no benefits of heat resistance for gastropods. Different environments can yield variable conditions in symbiosis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104420732110231
Author(s):  
Carli Friedman ◽  
Laura VanPuymbrouck

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) opened the doors to access and enhanced the civil rights of people with disabilities. However, a lack of accessibility to all segments of society continues throughout the United States and is frequently described by people with disabilities as a leading cause for limited participation. Beliefs and attitudes regarding disability can affect critical decisions regarding inclusion and people with disabilities’ civil rights. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore support and opposition to the ADA among nondisabled people. We had the following research questions: (a) What is the relationship between disability prejudice and support for the ADA? and (b) When controlling for disability prejudice, what other factors lead people to support the ADA? To do so, we examined secondary data from approximately 13,000 participants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings from this study revealed that people who oppose the ADA are significantly more prejudiced toward people with disabilities than people who support the ADA. Understanding and becoming aware of attitudes and prejudice toward persons with disabilities can be a first step toward dispelling such beliefs and possibly a priori step to achieving the intent and spirit of the ADA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 592-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Geidne ◽  
Sami Kokko ◽  
Aoife Lane ◽  
Linda Ooms ◽  
Anne Vuillemin ◽  
...  

Many researchers and authorities have recognized the important role that sports clubs can play in public health. In spite of attempts to create a theoretical framework in the early 2000s, a thorough understanding of sports clubs as a setting for health promotion (HP) is lacking. Despite calls for more effective, sustainable, and theoretically grounded interventions, previous literature reviews have identified no controlled studies assessing HP interventions in sports clubs. This systematic mapping review details how the settings-based approach is applied through HP interventions in sports clubs and highlights facilitators and barriers for sports clubs to become health-promoting settings. In addition, the mapped facilitators and barriers have been used to reformulate previous guidelines of HP in sports clubs. Seven databases were searched for empirical research published between 1986 and 2017. Fifty-eight studies were included, principally coming from Australia and Europe, describing 33 unique interventions, which targeted mostly male participants in team sports. The settings-based approach was not yet applied in sports clubs, as more than half of the interventions implemented in sports club targeted only one level of the socio-ecological model, as well as focused only on study participants rather than the club overall. Based on empirical data, the analysis of facilitators and barriers helped develop revised guidelines for sports clubs to implement settings-based HP. This will be particularly useful when implementing HP initiatives to aid in the development of sports clubs working with a whole setting approach.


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