Respect-Ability Coalition

Health Care Accessibility Survey: People with Disabilities Still Face Physical and Program Barriers in Obtaining Needed Health Care in California

People with disabilities and disabilities rights advocates from throughout California who attended the Respect-ABILITY Conference in Los Angeles in March were the first to learn the preliminary results of a state-wide health accessibility survey conducted by the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) and other members of the Respect-ABILITY Coalition.  The Respect-ABILITY Coalition is a state-wide, non partisan association of disability rights advocacy agencies and service providers.    

The Health Care Accessibility for People with Disabilities Survey Project was funded by a generous grant from The California Endowment, and sought to determine the accessibility of local health care providers throughout California.

The Disability Rights Legal Center, a nonprofit cross-disability legal advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, worked with The California Foundation and Independent Living Centers (CFILC), an association of education and advocacy centers throughout California,  to develop and administer the “Health Care Accessibility Survey for People with Disabilities” and presented their preliminary finding at the 2008 Respect-ABILITY Conference.

According to Paula Pearlman, DRLC’s Executive Director, “Health care accessibility is a critically important issue for the elderly and people with disabilities. Existing architectural and programmatic barriers in health care provider facilities often means people who are experiencing health problems or need preventive care, are going without care because of their disability status. That is simply wrong and an illegal form of discrimination.”

Federal and state laws require full and equal access to health services for individuals with disabilities. These laws not only govern access to providers, such as primary care physicians and specialists, but also plan services, such as information about benefits, filing of grievances, and any other services offered to patients. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cover commercial facilities, non-profit service providers that are public accommodations, and as well as privately operated medical and health facilities, It includes offices of doctors, psychiatrist, dentist, optometrist and pharmacies, added Pearlman.

Health Care Access Survey

As noted above, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 established that people with disabilities have equal access rights to goods and services, including health care services. The Health Care Accessibility Survey for People with Disabilities was a statewide effort of the Respect-Ability Coalition had three major objectives: (1) to document the types of health care access barriers people with disabilities may still be encountering in California, (2) attempt to identify some best practice models and (3) use the survey data to identify and develop specific policy recommendations and to help guide public policy makers and the health care industry to adopt policy solutions for greater access to quality health care for people with disabilities.

Survey Methodology:

The survey was designed as a consumer based survey that would provide a qualitative sense of the types of barriers consumers with disabilities were facing if any in obtaining needed healthcare services. To view the fact sheet for the survey please CLICK HERE.

The Health Care Accessibility Survey could be taken online on the Respect-ABILITY Coalition’s website at:  www.respectabilitycoaltion.org.

Printed versions of survey were widely distributed and could also be downloaded from the website. The survey was also made available in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, and computer disk. The survey was also translated into Spanish and also made available in Spanish. Assistance with completing the survey was provided by DRLC and other Coalition members upon request to people with other language needs or who required some other type of assistance in completing the survey. 

The survey methodology had several limitations: First, because the focus and goal of the survey was to identify access barriers we did not seek or obtain demographic information from survey takers. Secondly, while we made every effort to make the survey as easy read and take as possible, the final survey still came out to be 19 pages long, and contained 61 questions, and may have been to long for some consumers to want to take and complete.

Preliminary Survey Results Highlights

The following results are based on the surveys that were completed and returned to the Coalition during the 6 month period prior to Respect-ABILITY Coalition Conference that was held in March 2008. The following data and analysis is derived from the surveys that were received during this period.

• We received 188 completed surveys

• Although the majority of the surveys were from Southern California area, we received surveys from consumers from communities throughout California.

• 43% of the survey takers were people with disabilities, 37% identified themselves as disabilities advocates, and another 19% identified themselves as either a family member or caregiver of a person with a disability.

• Only 15% of the respondents reported that their health care provider had received disability awareness training, the other 85% reported that they had not or did not know if they had.

• 21% of the survey respondents reported that their health care provider did not arrange a sign language interpreter when needed, and that 38% did not provide needed health care materials or instructions in alternative formats.

• While 84% of the respondents reported that their medical care facility had accessible parking, 16% reported this was still a no   accessible parking.

• A nearly 50% of respondents reported encountering some sort of physical access barriers, narrow doorways, heavy doors, or inaccessible door fixtures in approaching or entering the medical service office or facility.

• 41% reported that their providers did not have accessible exam tables, and 41% also reported that their provider did not have accessible weight scales.

• Almost a third of the respondents reported that their healthcare provider’s still did not have an accessible bathroom stall in their office.

To view the slides from the presentation given at the Respect-ABILITY Conference 2008 please CLICK HERE.

Conclusion: While the above only notes a brief and limited description of the preliminary results of the Respect-ABILITY Health Care Accessibility Survey, it responses suggest that while there has been significant progress in terms of architectural access in the buildings and offices of healthcare providers, there is still strong need for disability awareness and sensitivity training among health care providers, and a significant number of California still encounter different types of barriers in obtaining needed health care.

The Respect-ABILITY Coalition is preparing a final analysis of all completed surveys submitted to date, and will be working with coalition members, disability rights organizations and other stake holders to develop Best Practice and Policy Recommendations based on that data and advocating for systemic changes to improve health care access for people with disabilities by sharing these findings and recommendation with policy makers, other disability rights organizations, health care experts, and other key community members.

For more information regarding the Health Care Accessibility Survey project please contact the Disability Rights Legal Center at (213) 736-1031, TDD (213) 736-8310 or at drlc@lls.edu.

 

The Mission of the RespectAbility
Coalition is to implement and carry forward the Goals and Objectives of the Disability Rights Agenda and to ensure that the Disability Rights Agenda continues to represent the needs of the California disability community and to reflect the political, social, and other external factors influencing the California disability community.

Our Primary Responsibilities:

	Identifying strategies to implement the Disability Rights Agenda, appointing members to take responsibility for carrying out those strategies, being responsible and accountable for carrying out those strategies
	Organizing periodic RespectAbility Conferences to bring the California disability community together, to update the goals and objectives of the Disability Rights Agenda, and to promote and strengthen the disability community’s commitment to disability rights
	Developing, articulating, and publicizing agree upon positions, as a coalition, on matters directly affecting the Disability Rights Agenda in legislative, regulatory, policy, media, and community forums
	Communicating with member organizations, interested nonmember organizations, and interested individuals about the RespectAbility Coalition’s activities, positions, and programs.