Many people in the United States and around the world are still affected by handicap challenges. According to the 2016 Disability Annual Report based on the American Community Survey, the percentage of people living with disabilities in the United States was 12.6% in 2015. (Kraus, 2017). The rate has been steadily rising in recent years. As a result, there is a need to investigate many factors that affect such persons, such as the employment gap, age, wage discrepancies, and poverty (Kraus, 2017). There are various types of disability, including visual, self-care, cognitive, hearing, ambulatory, and independent living. As a human being, I have values, attitudes, and beliefs about different aspects of life and certain individuals that I have developed throughout the course of my life. The families, friends, experiences and society shape such values and beliefs. As I individual, I always come across, live or interact with people who are vulnerable due to visible or invisible disabilities. Some members of the society often see such individuals as being unacceptable or different. Personally, I have high regard for the people living with a disability. I always feel empathic to those living with disabilities and hence have a sense of helping them where necessary such as assisting them to get up, show them direction, provide social support and assist them in pulling their wheelchairs among other responsibilities. I always feel such people are not lesser human beings and anybody can be like them in any point of their lives. I love making friends with them in residential care facilities.
I like engaging in social work, which is a fundamental component of care for people with disabilities. Besides, I greatly value and respect the rights and dignity of disabled individuals, and I often feel a moral obligation to assist them. I have a belief that all humans are equal and those with special needs can move to positions of dependency toward positions of independence in communities of their choice. As such, altruism, choice, community, independence, equality, and empowerment characterize my value system. There are different stereotypes or assumptions about such individuals. Such assumptions include the belief that they are always in pain and sick, they are the same, need help and deserve out pity. In my opinion, such assumptions do not apply to all disabled individuals, and as such, I do not have any strong views against them.
What Healthcare Providers Think About People with Visible and Invisible Disabilities
Health care providers think that those with visible and invisible disabilities are not in positions to do certain roles. In the perspective of healthcare practitioners, cultural competencies are essential to understanding the needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. The healthcare providers view such individuals as those who need adequate care and support to help them carry out daily activities (Epner & Baile, 2012). There is a need for effective communication with people living with disabilities while showing empathy to understand their needs, values, and preferences. The healthcare providers also believe that such individuals need excellent medical care with the advanced medical knowledge to address the feelings and concerns of the disabled. Besides, people living with disability require adequate education about their choices of care.
Healthcare providers also believe that individuals with visible and visible disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorders and other physical disability have the right to receive adequate care and community support (Quinlan et al., 2010). They have the right to disclosure of information. The policy about Americans with Disabilities, as well as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, requires that people who have disabilities should feel protected from unfair discrimination and free to disclose any information and that is the position of nursing practice. They may also think that the patients for them to be completely heard, there is a need for an interpreter. Those with an invisible disability tend to suffer from chronic illness and hence need adequate healthcare assistance.
How I Might Deliver Care Differently to a Person with an Invisible Disability
I might care differently to a person with an invisible disability by incorporating different models of care such as scientific, biomedical and social frameworks. The scientific models help in coming up with medical and social constructions while the biological models will give me a hand in looking into the pathological conditions of the disability (Brault, 2012). I will also incorporate social support groups such as the social workers to help the individuals with invisible disabilities to take care of themselves in the communities.
Besides, I will incorporate the role of psychologists to provide interventions to the persons with invisible disabilities in different settings such as schools, work, outpatient and inpatient facilities, social service agencies as well as disaster sites. The psychologists will help the individuals undergo series of therapies and counseling to help them cope with their conditions (Geisinger et al., 2011). Other strategies will incorporate improving the capacity of mental health care, encourage evidence-based care and carry out more research on the issues related to invisible disabilities (Tanielian et al., 2008).
References
Brault, M. W. (2012). Americans with disabilities: 2010. Current population reports, 7, 0-131.
Epner, D. E., & Baile, W. F. (2012). Patient-centered care: the key to cultural competence. Annals of oncology, 23(suppl 3), 33-42.
Geisinger, K. F., Kriegsman, K., Taliaferro, G., Schultz, I. Z., Hamilton, R. H., Heller, T., ... & Nathan, S. (2011). Guidelines for Assessment of and Intervention With Persons With Disabilities.
Kraus, Lewis. (2017). 2016 Disability Statistics Annual Report. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire.
Quinlan, J. D., Guaron, M. R., Deschere, B. R., & Stephens, M. B. (2010). Care of the returning veteran. American family physician, 82(1), 43-49.
Tanielian, T., Jaycox, L. H., Schell, T. L., Marshall, G. N., Burnam, M. A., Eibner, C., ... & Vaiana, M. E. (2008). Invisible wounds: Mental health and cognitive care needs of America's returning veterans. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation: http://veterans. rand. org.
