Technical Standards from Newly Established Medical Schools: A Review of Disability Inclusive Practices

Introduction Technical standards document US medical school's nonacademic criteria necessary for admission, persistence, and graduation and communicate the school's commitment to disability inclusion and accommodation but are considered one of the largest barriers for students with disabilities. Calls for more inclusive technical standards have increased in recent years, yet the impact of this work on changing technical standards has not been measured. The establishment of 15 new US MD- and DO-granting medical schools between 2017 to 2020 offered a unique opportunity to evaluate differences in the inclusive nature of newly developed technical standards. Method We conducted a document analysis of 15 newly formed medical schools’ technical standards to determine the availability and inclusive nature of the standards as they pertain to students with sensory and mobility disabilities. Technical standards were coded for: ease of obtaining technical standards, the school's stated willingness to provide reasonable accommodations, the origin of responsibility for accommodation request and implementation, and the school's openness to intermediaries or auxiliary aids. Results Of the 15 schools, 73% of the technical standards were not easy to locate online. Few (13%) included language that support disability accommodations. Most (73%) used language that was coded as ‘restrictive’ for students with physical or sensory disabilities. Coding of the newly accredited US MD and DO medical schools suggests that newly created technical standards are more restrictive than those in previous studies. Conclusions Efforts to create more inclusive technical standards have not yet been realized. Newly formed US MD- and DO-granting medical schools may perpetuate historically restrictive technical standards that serve as barriers to applicants with disabilities. Future research should evaluate the role of medical school accrediting bodies to go beyond simply requiring technical standards to ensuring that the standards are readily available and appropriately convey the availability of reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.

Roads to Success: The Career Attainment Experiences of Lawyers With Visual Impairments in South Korea

Problem: Disability issues have long been a topic at the margins of HRD research and have rarely been examined outside the United States context or with a focus on a specific disability type. Additionally, largely due to a homogeneous national culture, people with disabilities in South Korea experience unique barriers in career development. Solution: The authors report the findings of a multiple case study on the career attainment experiences of lawyers with visual impairments in South Korea. Data analyzed from interviews with five participants showed that various individual (perseverance, identity as a person with a visual impairment, self-advocacy, and strategic mindset) and social (family and peer support, reasonable accommodation, precedent, and having a leader with a vision for inclusion) factors contributed to their career attainment. Stakeholders: The findings of this study can aid organizational leaders, hiring managers, HRD practitioners in charge of providing reasonable accommodations, and educators of people with disabilities.

Disabled People’s Fight for Rights in South Korea and Japan

Long considered objects of pity and welfare assistance, people with disabilities in South Korea and Japan are increasingly treated as rights-bearers. Through activism, litigation, and involvement in international treaty negotiations, Koreans and Japanese with disabilities spurred reforms that created new anti-discrimination protections and obligations to provide reasonable accommodations, access, employment, and social supports. These policy changes also signal a notably more legalistic approach to governance, particularly in South Korea, because they include more detailed rules and formal rights, more enforcement mechanisms like fines, and better recourse to judicial or other dispute resolution bodies.

COVID-19 and persons with disabilities in the Philippines: A policy analysis

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic warrants an immediate response. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are one of the most vulnerable populations susceptible to marginalization. While there are existing guidelines in the Philippines that aim to assist their basic needs, a call for inclusivity in policymaking for the COVID-19 response is highly advocated. This paper aims to analyze existing policy guidelines concerning the welfare of PWDs in the country based on several policy domains. Methods: Relevant documents were acquired through extensive search of government and nongovernment websites and news agencies. Literature included memorandums, circulars, and news bulletins in the period between January 2020 to May 2021. This study conducted a framework analysis on policies enacted by the Philippine government during the COVID-19 pandemic concerning PWDs. The framework was divided into eight areas: access to (1) information, (2)healthcare, (3) education, and (4) financial support, (5) protection from infection in residential settings, (6) reasonable accommodation, (7) consideration for disabled people facing multiple exclusions, and (8) inclusion to decision-making process. Results: Fifteen PWD related COVID-19 response documents from the Philippines were reviewed and analyzed. Most policies corresponded to themes related to financial support and reasonable accommodations. Most documents were limited to proposals and suggestions with only a few documents including specific details on how the program will be implemented and monitored. Conclusion: The state has proven its cognizance for PWDs; however, implementation and its impact remain to be seen. The government needs to evaluate these efforts to identify gaps and barriers. A comprehensive national database should be implemented to centralize registration of PWDs, and efforts should be made to inform and educate PWDs of their rights and of existing programs. Most importantly, PWDs should be included in the discourse and decision-making process to ensure programs are acceptable and accessible.

Litigation on Accommodating Teachers With Disabilities

Qualified employees with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The demanding nature of the teaching profession presents a particularly challenging context for accommodations; therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine litigation on accommodating teachers with disabilities. Authors searched Lexis+ to identify case law on accommodations claims by teachers with disabilities. Results indicated plaintiffs were primarily female. Depression represented the most common disability, followed by respiratory issues, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Accommodation claims were adjudicated under the broad categories of failure to meet the essential functions of the position, failure to engage in the interactive process, and undue hardship. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.

Québec News-Print Media Portrayals of Immigrants During the Reasonable Accomodations Commission

Media and public discourses are constantly changing as a result of their effect on one another. The Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences which roamed the province of Québec in late 2007 was widely reported on in the mainstream news-media. This paper provides a critical content analysis of 105 articles in three Québec daily newspapers (La Presse, Le Soleil, and The Gazette) during the months of September to December 2007 when the public forums discussing the reasonable accommodation of minority groups took place. By making theoretical linkages with the data collected, the findings show that the media discourses between the three newspapers vary slightly and are not accurate representations of the public discourses surrounding the issue of reasonable accommodations amongst the Québec population.

Québec News-Print Media Portrayals of Immigrants During the Reasonable Accomodations Commission

Media and public discourses are constantly changing as a result of their effect on one another. The Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences which roamed the province of Québec in late 2007 was widely reported on in the mainstream news-media. This paper provides a critical content analysis of 105 articles in three Québec daily newspapers (La Presse, Le Soleil, and The Gazette) during the months of September to December 2007 when the public forums discussing the reasonable accommodation of minority groups took place. By making theoretical linkages with the data collected, the findings show that the media discourses between the three newspapers vary slightly and are not accurate representations of the public discourses surrounding the issue of reasonable accommodations amongst the Québec population.

Part V The Scope of Refugee Protection, Ch.43 Protecting Refugees with Disabilities

This chapter evaluates the law and policy concerning persons with disabilities displaced as refugees, beginning with a broad survey of international legal and policy frameworks. It is accepted as axiomatic that events producing refugees are a major cause of death and disability in vulnerable human populations. Counterintuitively, however, statistical data collected by both national and United Nations agencies, including UNHCR, has traditionally identified only very small numbers of refugees as having disabilities. The supposition seems to have been that persons with disabilities are not able to travel and that these individuals are most likely to be left behind to perish or otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of fate and misfortune. Research in more recent times has revealed such assumptions about the mobility of refugees with disabilities to be patently false. The chapter then looks at the intersections between refugee law and human rights laws, examining how key elements of the definition of refugee should apply to persons with disabilities. It also addresses the procedural implications of requirements that ‘reasonable accommodations’ be made in status determinations and treatment of refugees with disabilities. Finally, the chapter comments on durable solutions for refugees with disabilities and the future impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on international refugee law and policy.

Employment for Persons with Disabilities in Thailand: Opportunities and Challenges in the Labor Market

This mixed-methods study aimed to examine the current situation of the enforcement of laws for the employment of persons with disabilities (PWDs), and the difference in perspectives between PWDs and employers in Thailand. Results showed that there were only 8% of PWDs employed in competitive labor markets. The most relevant jobs from the employer’s perspectives for PWDs were unskilled labor. The majority of PWDs sought to be employed with essential support, including housing and transportation, in the mainstream open labor market. At the same time, employers were usually more concerned about particular approaches and accessible working environments for PWDs. Thus, this perspective gap was one reason for the low rate of employment of PWDs. In sum, there have been many challenges for the employment of PWDs in Thailand. Ways to improve career development for PWDs include the provision of suitable education and training, housing or dormitories located near workplaces, assistive technologies and reasonable accommodations in workplaces, and customized employment services for employed PWDs. Furthermore, positive attitudes, understanding, and collaboration between employers and PWDs should continuously be promoted.