Discrimination and unequal treatment in healthcare settings make it harder for people with disabilities to access good healthcare, which worsens their health outcomes. Most healthcare providers and allied health professionals do not receive training to care for people with disabilities during their healthcare education.
Discrimination and unequal treatment in healthcare settings make it harder for people with disabilities to access good healthcare, which worsens their health outcomes. Most healthcare providers and allied health professionals do not receive training to care for people with disabilities during their healthcare education.
These challenges were focal points discussed on a recent episode of ADALive!, a podcast produced by the Southeast ADA Center. The discussion featured Erin Vinoski Thomas, Director of the Center for Leadership in Disability and Research Associate Professor at Georgia State University's School of Public Health; Patricia Lawrence, Director of Project Healthy Grandparents and Clinical Assistant Professor at the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University; and Sydnie Smith, Disability & Health Project Manager at the Center for Leadership in Disability.
An interdisciplinary effort developed by Vinoski Thomas, Lawrence, and Smith aims to train nursing students to provide equitable and inclusive healthcare services for people with disabilities.
“We know that nurses are often the primary point of contact for patients in most healthcare settings,” said Professor Lawrence, who holds a PhD in Nursing and has a clinical nursing background. “Developing this training with nurses in mind at the very beginning really makes perfect sense. I’ve been told more than once by students that the topic of care around patients with disabilities just isn't discussed enough.”
The online training will include three modules. The first provides an overview of the ADA and disability rights; the second covers ADA titles II and III as they relate to healthcare settings, including the role of the nurse in provision of reasonable accommodations and modifications; and the third introduces strategies for communicating effectively with patients with disabilities. The training modules will be available on the Southeast ADA Center’s training website by Spring 2025.
The Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) at Georgia State University is the Georgia Affiliate of the Southeast ADA Center. For more information on the training, contact Erin Vinoski Thomas at [email protected]
The podcast and transcript are available at adalive.org/episodes/episode-132.
Pictured (L-R) Erin Vinoski Thomas, Patricia Lawrence and Sydnie Smith from Georgia State University
