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Bailey et al HEALTH 2019.pdf (95.42 kB)

Threats to embodied well-being: An exploration of how disabled people negotiate barriers in hospital settings

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posted on 2023-06-09, 16:26 authored by Ruth Bailey, Karen LowtonKaren Lowton, Sasha Scambler
Taking a social model of disability approach, this article explores how disabled people negotiate barriers in the large, modern hospital settings typically found in complex healthcare systems. While there is evidence of intractable barriers in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, little is known about the actions disabled people take in the face of barriers and the immediate effects of doing so. Analysis of data from a qualitative study of disabled people’s healthcare encounters is presented. This draws on the concept of threats to embodied well-being to understand how disabled people perceive barriers and the influence this perception has on barrier negotiation. It demonstrates that some barriers are unique to healthcare and that these place disabled people in situations where their well-being is threatened. Despite these situations being inherently disempowering, disabled people are forced to take whatever action they can to protect the embodied self. We theorise that barriers are created inadvertently by the design, organisation and healthcare practices characteristics of modern hospital settings. Effective barrier removal requires understanding not only their impact on disabled people’s embodied well-being, but also the political, policy and social relations implicated in their creation.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Health

ISSN

1363-4593

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Department affiliated with

  • Sociology and Criminology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-01-09

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2019-01-09

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-01-07

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