Five ways to counter ableist messaging in medical education in the context of promoting healthy movement behaviours

Abstract

One in five Canadians have a disability and there are well-documented gaps in care for this equity-deserving group that have roots in medical education. In this paper, we highlight the unintended consequences of ableist messaging for persons living with disabilities, particularly in the context of promoting healthy movement behaviours. With its broad reach and public trust, the medical community has a responsibility to acknowledge the reality of ableism and take meaningful action. We propose five strategies to counter ableist messaging in medical education: (1) increase knowledge and confidence among physicians and trainees to optimize movement behaviours in persons living with disabilities, (2) perform personal and institutional language audits to ensure terminology related to disability is inclusive and avoids causing unintended harm, (3) challenge ableist messages effectively, (4) address the unmet healthcare needs of persons living with disabilities, and (5) engage in efforts to reform medical curricula so that persons living with disabilities are represented and treated equitably. Physicians and trainees are well-positioned to deliver competent and inclusive care, making medical education an opportune setting to address health inequities related to disability.

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“…Emma Faught and co-authors wrote Five ways to counter ableist messaging in medical education in the context of promoting healthy movement behaviours. 13 They emphasized shifting the tone of movement behaviour messages in medical education to provide more inclusive and accessible care for persons living with disabilities. They outlined simple steps to counter ableist messaging such as learning and promoting movement in non-standing postures.…”

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“…A hallmark of such noninclusive research was describing neurodivergence through ableist language. The latter refers to language that assumes disabled people are less worthy as compared with nondisabled people (that is, 'disorder', 'disease' and 'devastating') 1 . Consequently, such language permeated how society viewed and treated neurodivergent people.…”