Grant: Operating Grant

Canada's healthcare system depends on many factors, including the people who work in the healthcare sector. At present, adults with disabilities are significantly under-represented in the health occupation sector. Diversification of health human resources by increasing the numbers of healthcare workers with a disability can improve the quality of care and delivery of services by making available practitioners who have a clear and distinct understanding of disability issues; and address the obligation of public heath sectors to meet employment equity targets in the Canadian Employment Equity Act or the UN's convention on Rights of persons with disabilities. This project will explore the barriers and facilitators for becoming a healthcare practitioner for people with disabilities and how professional competencies required to practice can be modified to facilitate the practice of these individuals. One-on-one, open-ended interviews will be conducted to better understand the educational and practice experiences of people with disabilities in the healthcare professions. Participants from three sites (UBC-V, UBCO and Queens University), and from five professional disciplines will be targeted: Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Social Work. Students and healthcare practitioners with disabilities, faculty and university staff, clinical supervisors, employers, and representatives from regulatory bodies will be recruited. This project can immediately impact standards of practice by providing a clear framework on academic and employment accommodation for people with disabilities, and provide suggestions for improved ways to demonstrate required competencies of clinicians with disabilities. Diversifying health services by providing an opportunity for people with disabilities to work will facilitate the availability of more practitioners who might be particularly sensitive to providing necessary services to disadvantaged populations.