Disabled people often have to go to the doctor more often than non-disabled people because they have a lot more health concerns that may require more doctor’s visits. When you have to go to the doctor more often, there is more opportunity to have a negative experience. As a disabled person who has a lot of health challenges, I have been very fortunate that most of my healthcare experiences have been positive, but not all disabled people have positive experiences. It is not uncommon for disabled people to have a lot of medical trauma, and I don’t know very many disabled people who have positive things to say about their medical team and will speak highly of them. I almost feel guilty talking about my positive experience in healthcare with other disabled people because a lot of disabled people have a lot of medical trauma and are very bitter toward healthcare professionals. Disabled people need doctors to manage their disabilities, but it can be hard to trust anyone when you have had multiple bad experiences. Why do disabled people have more negative experiences? In this post, I am going to talk about why disabled people have more negative healthcare experiences.
Disabled people are more likely to be dismissed- When you are disabled, it can be very difficult to find a doctor who will take you seriously, because disabled people are often not taken as seriously as non-disabled people. Disabled people are often viewed as less capable than non-disabled people, and sometimes doctors will see your disability and think they need to treat you differently. I am fortunate I have only had one experience with a neurologist where I felt completely dismissed, but not all disabled people are fortunate enough to only have one bad experience. Disabled people are more likely to be dismissed than non-disabled people, and the more you are dismissed, the less trust you will have in doctors. It is not uncommon for a disabled person to have multiple bad experiences and have quite a bit of medical trauma. Disabled people should be able to trust their medical team, because we rely on them to help us get better, and it is so sad that so many disabled people have lost trust in the healthcare system and expect to be dismissed. Listen to disabled patients because even though a disabled person may struggle with more things, that doesn’t mean we are less capable.
Doctors are often ableist- I wish doctors were required to take a course on ableism written by disabled people because most doctors and healthcare professionals in general are ableist. A vast majority of the time, I don’t think doctors are actively trying to harm their patients and probably realize that they are being ableist or know what it is. Many disabled people have faced some kind of ableism in healthcare, and it is negatively impacting disabled patients, so they don’t want to go back to the doctor. Doctors can benefit from talking to disabled people and learning about ableism because you can’t truly support disabled people if you don’t have a basic understanding of ableism. I have heard many doctors say ableist comments to me, and as long as you are listening to my concerns, I am able to ignore your ableism and move past it, but it still doesn’t make me feel great. Ableism can turn what would have been a positive experience into a negative one because not everyone can ignore it as easily. Doctors should be talking to disabled people and educating themselves on ableism to get a basic understanding of it, because sometimes healthcare workers are ableist, and patients feel dismissed, even if they are not. Most people are ableist, and it’s not just doctors, but it can be especially harmful in healthcare when you see people at their worst, and your job is helping people get better.
Doctors sometimes talk down to disabled patients– Doctors sometimes think that disabled people are not capable of speaking for themselves and will talk down to us because they see us as less than everyone else. Many disabled people are just as capable of making medical decisions as non-disabled people, but often, doctors make wrongful assumptions and think we need someone to make decisions for us. Some disabled people may need help making medical decisions, but a vast majority of people are just as capable of making medical decisions as non-disabled people. Doctors should be treating disabled patients in the same way they would their non-disabled patients, but often they don’t treat us the same and talk directly to our caregivers. Disabled people have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously as non-disabled people because sometimes doctors believe disability stereotypes and ignore their disabled patients. Many disabled people have been talked down to by many healthcare professionals, and I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to the doctor, and a healthcare worker asks my caregiver a question that they could have asked me. Doctors who don’t talk down to disabled patients do exist, but you are going to have a hard time convincing someone of that when it’s happened to them more times than they care to admit.
Inaccessibility can turn a positive experience into a negative one– Doctors’ offices should be one of the most accessible places because disabled people are going to be your most repeat customers. It often is one of the least accessible places next to churches, which I would argue is even less accessible because they aren’t required to be. Sometimes the doctor is the nicest person, but a disabled person is not able to access treatments like non-disabled people can, and doesn’t have the greatest experience due to the lack of accessibility. Inaccessibility can turn what would have been a positive experience into a negative one.
Disabled people have to go to the doctor more often than non-disabled people and shouldn’t fear going to the doctor, but often we do because of multiple bad experiences. Doctors often don’t take disabled patients as seriously as non-disabled patients and treat them differently. If you are a healthcare worker, please treat your disabled patients the same way you would treat everyone else, because disabled people deserve to have just as good care as non-disabled people. There are a lot of issues in the healthcare system, and your doctor cannot fix them all, but we can change how disabled patients are treated. Medical trauma is often avoidable by simply listening to patients and not making unfair judgments about them. It is so sad that many disabled people have lost trust in doctors because of ableism, and it is a solvable problem. Listen to your disabled patients and try to unlearn ableism so you can positively impact disabled people. Why do you think disabled people have more negative experiences in healthcare? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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