Do People with Disabilities Have Difficulty Finding a Family Physician?

Abstract

Primary care has been ideally characterized as the medical home for all citizens, and yet recent data shows that approximately 6% do not have a family physician, and only 17.5% of family practices are open to new patients. Given acknowledged shortages of family physicians, this research asks the question: Do people with disabilities have particular difficulty finding a family physician? Health Care Connect (HCC) is a government-funded agency in Ontario Canada, designed to “help Ontarians who are without a family health care provider to find one”. Using data from HCC, supplemented by interviews with HCC staff, the study explores the average wait time for patients with disabilities to be linked with a primary care physician, and the challenges faced by agency staff in doing so. The study found that disabled registrants with the program are only slightly disadvantaged in terms of wait times to find a family physician, and success rates are ultimately comparable; however, agency staff report that there are a number of significant challenges associated with placing disabled patients.

The Experiences of Microaggressions against Women with Visible and Invisible Disabilities

“…The first microaggression was that symptoms sometimes were not believed by medical professionals, thus delaying diagnosis of disability. Considerable research supports the idea that women and people with disabilities are among the groups that receive disparate medical care (Chrisler, Barney, & Palatino, ; Hatzenberger, Phelan, & Link, ; McColl, Aiken, & Schaub, ; Schimmel Hyde & Livermore, ; Sharby, Martire, & Iversen, ; White & Stubblefield‐Tave, ). One mechanism for this disparate care may be the degree to which symptoms are thought to be medical versus psychoemotional.…”

Healthcare provider perceptions of accessible exam tables in primary care: Implementation and benefits to patients with and without disabilities

“…4 Extant research has assessed implementation of accessible examination equipment in healthcare settings. [10][11][12][13][14][15] To date, however, few of these studies have explored the potential barriers to utilization of accessible medical equipment. [10][11][12][13][14][15] More research is needed to understand the feasibility issues associated with utilization of accessible exam tables from the vantage point of healthcare providers.…”

“…10 These barriers are often compounded for certain disabled populations, including those with obesity. [11][12][13][14][15] Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act include administrative requirements for healthcare providers and organizations to ensure full and equal access to PWD. 16 Title III, for example, requires hospitals and doctors' offices to install accessible wheelchair ramps, when readily achievable.…”

Geographic accessibility to primary care providers: Comparing rural and urban areas in Southwestern Ontario

“…Health care accessibility is inversely associated with distance or travel time and is sensitive to where people are located within a large metropolitan area (Guagliardo et al 2004;Charreire and Combier 2009;Bauer et al 2016;Shah et al 2016;Gilliland et al 2019) and/or across the urban-rural continuum (Cinnamon et al 2008;McGrail and Humphreys 2015;McDonald et al 2017;Shah et al 2017). Even within urban areas, transportation is one of the most commonly cited barriers to primary care access (McColl et al 2015;South East Local Health Integration Network 2015). In addition to contextual factors, health geographers also consider the compositional factors (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics of individuals living in a place) that can also influence health outcomes and accessibility to health care resources (Mohan 1998;Macintyre et al 2002).…”