Barriers to Health Care Among Adults with Disabilities with Mary Beth Bruder and Tara Lutz

On the latest episode of the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal (DDNJ) Author Insights Podcast, Dr. Mathew Wappett sat down with Mary Beth Bruder and Tara Lutz to discuss barriers that adults with disabilities are running into. Dr. Bruder and Dr. Lutz both have Ph.Ds in a disability field. Scroll down for our embeded podcast player and listen to the full episode!

This episode covers a journal article that came out of a recent issue of the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal: “Barriers to Healthcare Among Adults with Disabilities in Connecticut.”  

Wappett asks: “What are some of the major barriers that you found [in] healthcare for individuals with disabilities?” 

“I can start with this,” says Dr. Bruder. “I think you need to put the context in that this is a self-select survey, so it does not represent the whole state. The majority of the respondents are over 45, so there are some age-related issues... Slightly more than half report motor disabilities or motor challenges, and [a] very small minority using the indicators had issues in regard to everyday focusing or using devices... Many of them felt that their provider... and office staff did not necessarily understand disability as a normal piece of the lifespan that we all have. [They] did not communicate very openly, directly to the patient, or suggested in their communications that they did not understand the disability and their everyday life.” 

Dr. Lutz adds to this: “So in addition to the attitudes, the communication barriers, our respondents did also report out needing that accessible medical diagnostic equipment, and in instances that it was needed, they didn't have it. So they might need it, but the office, the facility they were going to or wanted to go to, could not serve them. [It] could not meet their needs, or could only meet their needs some of the time when they went for an appointment.” 

Another barrier that they discussed was transportation. Dr. Bruder states: “Transportation was a challenge as a structural barrier... findings were similar to national studies that have just been conducted over the past less than five years. And you know, they suggest everything from patients, and we call them persons, obviously not having a full physical done if they're in a wheelchair, that they were left in their wheelchair because people did not want to move them.” 

“One of our findings in regard to the communication with healthcare providers ... persons with disabilities may need a longer visit. ... They felt that the doctor didn't have time to listen to them. And we know that that's the best diagnostic tool, is having open communication, feeling like you can share, Especially people who have communication challenges, we have seen that—and I'm sure you have, too, anecdotally—where physicians or nurses or even medical students don't do the wait time that's needed for a person to gather the communication they're trying to say; whether it's through a speech mechanism or through an augmentative system.” 

Dr. Mary Beth Bruder is a professor at the University of Connecticut, School of Medicine. Bruder started her career as a public-school teacher in 1976. In addition to that she provided consultation to inclusive childcare and Head Start programs. Bruder would go on to receive her PhD from the University of Oregon in early childhood intervention and developmental disabilities in 1983. 

Dr. Tara Lutz is the Associate Director for training at the University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Lutz coordinates and teaches the certificate of interdisciplinary disability studies in public health. She received her PhD in public health and a master's in public health from the University of Connecticut. 

Listen to this podcast and other episodes of the DDNJ Author Insights Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and the DDNJ Author Insights Podcast Page.   

You can also find the journal article from the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal on the DDNJ website.