title: A qualitative study of the perspectives of individuals with disabilities about their health care experiences: implications for culturally appropriate health care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study explores the health care experience of individuals with disabilities and how this knowledge can guide health care professionals in providing effective and compassionate care for persons with disabilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants' experiences about the health care they received were quantitatively analyzed for common themes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants most often discussed the process of how they came to receive their official disability diagnosis. Another recurrent theme was disability etiology, in which participants described the events or process that resulted in a disability. Two other frequent themes, normality and others' perceptions of disability, centered upon what it means to be "normal" or others' assumptions about what it means to be "nor mal" (as opposed to having a disability). Family support and struggles, experiences with medical professionals and hospitals, and barriers to inclusion and accommodations were the other key themes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides insights to aspects of living with a disability that individuals with disabilities felt were important for health care professionals to know. Being aware of these topics may help health care providers in establishing good communication with their patients who have a disability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan Medical School, 325 E. Eisenhower Pkwy, Ste 200, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA. sonyamil@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Sonya R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D003479:Curriculum; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research