Barriers to wellness activities for Canadian women with physical disabilities.
Although there is a great deal of interest in women's health, research on the health and well being of women with disabilities has not increased. In this article we present internal and structural barriers to wellness activities experienced by women with disabilities. We also discuss women's actual and recommended strategies to address these barriers. Data were collected in six focus groups in urban and rural Ontario, Canada. The participants represented a diversity of disability, age, and ethnoracial backgrounds. Our findings suggest that individual and structural barriers exist for the women, with structural barriers (physical, informational, and systemic access) being predominant. Barriers prevented women from engaging in desired wellness activities. Women discussed actual strategies to address these barriers, such as collective efforts to buy nutritious foods and recommendations to create greater access (e.g., increase health professionals' training in disability issues).
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Fran
F
Odette
Karen K
KK
Yoshida
Pat
P
Israel
Audrey
A
Li
Deb
D
Ullman
Angela
A
Colontonio
Heather
H
Maclean
David
D
Locker
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001107:Architectural Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000592:standards; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009864:Ontario; D012423:Rural Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health