Representations of disability in nursing and healthcare literature: an integrative review

Abstract

Title. Representations of disability in nursing and healthcare literature: an integrative review Aim. This paper is a report of an integrative review to explore the way in which disability has been considered in the multidisciplinary health and nursing literature. Background. In the multidisciplinary health and nursing literature, two ways are presented in which disability can be understood: the traditional, functional perspective and a more contemporary, social perspective. Data sources. Computerized databases of the CINAHL, Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Sources, EBSCO and Evidence Based Medicine Reviews Multifile and Cochrane databases were conducted for papers published in English in the period 1963–2007 using the keywords ‘models of disability’, ‘disability and nursing research’ and ‘theories of disability’. Methods. An integrative review was performed and, of the 11,578 papers identified, 65 were included. Results. The concept of functional disability refers to an individual who is physically ‘disabled’ and unable to perform expected roles. The concepts of social stigmatization and normalcy are associated with functional disability. In contrast, social disability concerns functional limitations within an individual’s experience of living with disability, examining how socially constructed barriers actually ‘disable’ people. Conventionally, disability research has been conducted from an etic perspective. Researchers contend that a shift towards an understanding from the emic perspective is needed for disability research to be emancipatory. Conclusion. Adoption of a social perspective is necessary to inform an understanding of disability that addresses stigmatization and oppression. Research‐informed nursing practice, complemented by supportive health and social policies, could transform the experience of living with disability.

(Re)constructing Myself: the process of transition to motherhood for women with a disability

“…It was perceived to be a failing of the individual, a personal tragedy (Barnes and Mercer 2010). The term was applied when the individual was unable to fulfill normative, socially constructed roles and expectations, like those associated with motherhood (McMillan Boyles et al 2008). But over the last fifty years people with a disability have refuted this functionalist conceptualisation.…”

“…Disability is conceptualised as a limitation in occupational and social functioning resulting from a chronic illness or disease or a functional limitation of the individual (Lutz and Bowers 2003, Barnes and Mercer 2007, McMillan Boyles et al 2008, Barnes and Mercer 2010. Two models, the moral model and medical model, evolved from this perspective.…”

“…Consequently, people with a disability are perceived to be unable to function and perform socially constructed roles and responsibilities, they are considered different and dysfunctional, someone to be pitied, someone who requires intervention(s) so as to ameliorate the deficit related to their disability (Brandt and Pope 1997, Barnes and Mercer 2007, McMillan Boyles et al 2008, Barnes and Mercer 2010.…”

Models of disability: their influence in nursing and potential role in challenging discrimination

“…A recent review confirms that this call for nurses to accept the social dimensions of disability has gone largely unheeded (Boyles et al 2008). It is claimed that the social model holds the potential to "alter societal perceptions of disability" (Bricher 2000, p.781) and to "have a positive impact on service models and polices" (Boyles et al 2008, p.435).…”

“…After conducting extensive research across ethnic, national and racial boundaries, Pfeiffer (2003), a well respected researcher and disability scholar, has concluded that being a disabled person almost universally confers low social status. In view of this and the difficulty in piercing the paradigmatic shell of the established medical model it is hardly surprising to note that the social model is not prominent in nursing literature (Boyles et al 2008) and its impact is, at best, embryonic and negligible. Nevertheless there are examples, from the spheres of nursing practice and education, where there is evidence of some direct or indirect influence of the social model and a growing recognition of its potential to drive changes.…”