“When They See a Wheelchair, They’ve Not Even Seen Me”—Factors Shaping the Experience of Disability Stigma and Discrimination in Kenya

Abstract

Disability stigma in many low- and middle-income countries represents one of the most pervasive barriers preventing people with disabilities from accessing equal rights and opportunities, including the uptake of available assistive technology (AT). Previous studies have rarely examined how disability stigma may be shaped through factors endemic to social interactions, including how the use of assistive technology itself may precipitate or alleviate disability stigma. Through two strands of work, we address this gap. Via a series of focus groups with Kenyans without disabilities (Study 1) and secondary data analysis of consultations with Kenyans with disabilities and their allies (Study 2), we identify shared and divergent understandings of what shapes disability stigma and discrimination. Specifically, Kenyans with and without disabilities were cognizant of how religious/spiritual interpretations of disability, conceptions of impairments as “different” from the norm, and social stereotypes about (dis)ability shaped the experience of stigma and discrimination. Moreover, both groups highlighted assistive technology as an influential factor that served to identify or “mark” someone as having a disability. However, whereas participants without disabilities saw assistive technology purely as an enabler to overcome stigma, participants with disabilities also noted that, in some cases, use of assistive technologies would attract stigma from others.

Real-life experience of accepting assistive device services for Tibetans with dysfunction: A qualitative study

“…The difficulty in accessing professional services and the cumbersome application process has significantly increased insecurity. For a long time, the social perception of ADs as an externalized label of “disability” has made most people with dysfunction have a negative experience of “stigma” in public places [ 34 , 35 ]. Another group of participants reported that they had a history of falls, and the use of ADs created a sense of “fear” for them [ 36 , 37 ].…”

Exploring expectations of Chinese patients for total knee arthroplasty: once the medicine is taken, the symptoms vanish

“…Regardless of before or after surgery, Chinese patients tend to dislike using any walking aid because of negative impact on their personal image and social activities. Walking aid is an assistive technology devices (ATD), which is considered as an influential factor that identifies or “marks” someone as having a disability [ 23 ]. Public misunderstanding about the use of ATD labels TKA patients as “disabled”, which may affect an individual’s mental health, causing negative attitudes and behaviors [ 24 ].…”

Concrete Paving Slabs for Comfort of Movement of Mobility-Impaired Pedestrians—A Survey

“…The study results revealed various barriers city residents with motor disabilities encountered in terms of movement comfort and pavement quality ( Figure 3 and Figure 4 ). Given the damaging impact of stigmatising attitudes towards disability [ 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ], a good quality pavement that facilitates the comfort of pedestrian circulation puts people with motor disabilities on an equal playing field [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. The presence of people with disabilities in public space is not related to the total number of the people with impairments in that city, but with how the cities are adjusted to them, potentially serving as evidence that no obstacles are preventing them from being within the society [ 10 ].…”