The National Disability Strategy
The discussion in this article is based on one of Australia’s most important initiatives, the national disability strategy. According to various surveys, the number of disabled people in Australia is increasing. According to a survey, one in every six Australians, or around 4.4 million individuals, suffers from some form of impairment (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021). As a result, suitable efforts must be taken to ensure that these persons have access to adequate possibilities and opportunities in their lives. A strategy has been developed based on this premise. The purpose of this study is to explore numerous facets of this method; 4 key questions will be answered in this context.
As stated in the introduction, the incidence of disability in Australia is quite high, and many people are faced with a variety of difficult situations in their lives just because of their impairment. According to various studies and surveys conducted in Australia, disabled individuals are frequently denied enough possibilities or chances to live their lives as normal people, such as equal prospects for work or other resources (Kavanagh et al., 2021). But at the other side, it has been observed that they grow disconnected from the society or world and lonely, both of which have a negative influence on their psychological well-being. Furthermore, studies show that, despite increased longevity, the morbidity and death rate among adult disabled people is greater than the overall population. Furthermore, caregivers and family members of disabled individuals face a variety of challenges in their lives (Speight et al., 2021). The National Disability Strategy aims to improve the quality of life for Australians with disabilities, their families, and carers. It strives to build a more inclusive society in which people with disabilities may achieve their full potential alongside their peers. As a result, after evaluating the entire scenario, it can be concluded that disabled persons, their families, and carers are the major actors or stakeholders who have the most impact in the decision-making process for this policy.
Inequality in access to health-care services between disabled individuals and the general public is fairly widespread. According to studies, older persons are more susceptible to this handicap disease, and they frequently confront a variety of hurdles or challenges when it comes to effectively accessing health care services. Inadequate medical care were identified as a severe concern among disabled older persons, according to a study undertaken by Jackson, (2018), especially for people of varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds and those living in rural regions. Accessibility issues included a lack of transportation to medical institutions, which reduced appointment scheduling possibilities. Affordability was also a problem, which was compounded by disability with multi-morbidity, which needed considerable health-care consumption, because disability necessitates expensive care services. The role of the family, feelings of embarrassment when getting care from someone who is not a family member, traditional norms, and gender sensitivity were all considered acceptable issues.
Apart from the elderly, other disabled people encounter comparable barriers to accessing health care services. Because disability has a substantial influence on one’s daily life, they are unable to receive adequate long-term health care assistance (Munthali et al., 2019). Other challenges that a disabled person faces include poverty, a lack of education, and a general sense of isolation from their community, all of which have a big influence on receiving good health care services in their lives. Furthermore, these persons do not have the same rights or possibilities as others.
Challenges to Accessing Healthcare Services
Following the conversation above, it was discovered that disabled individuals require their rights and sufficient opportunity to lead a good life, which they do not currently have. As a result, this plan includes six key areas in which they may reduce a disabled person’s obstacles, including inclusive and accessible societies, economic security, their rights, life and environmental assistance, education, and health and wellness (Dss.gov.au, 2021). This strategy focuses on these areas in order to solve challenges that a disabled person may experience, such as social exclusion, unemployment, inadequate educational level, health-care affordability, and rights and security issues. The first section of this policy focuses on a disabled person’s physical surroundings, including transport, accommodation, playgrounds, institutions, and, most critically, communication technology. With all of these treatments, communication technologies play an important role in this context, considering disabled people, according to various studies, have communication challenges. If they can have some simple digital gadgets or other technology, it will be easier for them to deal with the communication problem (Light et al., 2019). The second section is all about their protections and rights, with the policy focusing on providing them with the equal opportunity they deserve.
The third is financial security, as poverty has been identified as one of the major issues faced by disabled persons. As a result, the policy is attempting to address this issue by increasing their job and earnings opportunities, and also providing sufficient income and accommodation to those who are unable to work (Banks, Kuper & Polack, 2017). The fourth category is about individual and community assistance, with policies focusing on community programs, conventional disability services, person-centered care, and other topics. The fifth element is education, which includes early schooling as well as other learning abilities that would aid in overcoming educational challenges for these individuals. The health and wellness of disabled people is the final and sixth policy area; this area is all about promoting health, affordable medical services.
Employment possibilities and a safe workplace with a non-discrimination culture are two examples of social variables that have a substantial influence on disabled people. According to Frier et al. (2018), disabled persons generally have limited work and employment options. In this respect, this policy prioritises this area, focusing on tackling the employment challenges of disabled individuals. First and foremost, they seek to give disabled individuals with equal educational opportunities so that they can participate with the general public; this plays a part in this social determinant factor. Aside from that, they are concentrating their efforts on improving work opportunities for disabled persons. Another important social variable is a safe workplace, because various studies show that disabled persons are frequently subjected to prejudice and inequality, which has a negative influence on their psychological health and well-being (Jones, Finkelstein & Koehoorn, 2018). In this case, the policy is concerned with the rights, laws, and protections afforded to disabled individuals. These principles on protections and rights aid in creating and maintaining a safe culture for them.
Conclusion
After considering this discussion, it is clear that a disabled person has several challenges in order to live a life that is comparable to that of the general public. However, the National Disability Policy, which considers practically all key areas of this sector, is operating extremely well in addressing some of them. The National Disability Strategy aims to improve the quality of life for Australians with disabilities, their families, and carers. It strives to build a more inclusive society in which people with disabilities may achieve their full potential alongside their peers. Several important facets of this policy were examined in this study.
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2021). People with disability in Australia, Prevalence of disability – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 5 November 2021, from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/people-with-disability/prevalence-of-disability.
Banks, L. M., Kuper, H., & Polack, S. (2017). Poverty and disability in low-and middle-income countries: A systematic review. PloS one, 12(12), e0189996.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0189996
Dss.gov.au. (2021). Dss.gov.au. Retrieved 5 November 2021, from https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/national_disability_strategy_2010_2020.pdf.
Frier, A., Barnett, F., Devine, S., & Barker, R. (2018). Understanding disability and the ‘social determinants of health’: how does disability affect peoples’ social determinants of health?. Disability and rehabilitation, 40(5), 538-547.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638288.2016.1258090
Jackson, M. A. (2018). Models of disability and human rights: Informing the improvement of built environment accessibility for people with disability at neighborhood scale?. Laws, 7(1), 10.https://www.mdpi.com/270802
Jones, A. M., Finkelstein, R., & Koehoorn, M. (2018). Disability and workplace harassment and discrimination among Canadian federal public service employees. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 109(1), 79-88. https://link.springer.com/article/10.17269/s41997-018-0022-0
Kavanagh, A., Dickinson, H., Carey, G., Llewellyn, G., Emerson, E., Disney, G., & Hatton, C. (2021). Improving health care for disabled people in COVID-19 and beyond: lessons from Australia and England. Disability and health journal, 14(2), 101050.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1936657420301886
Light, J., McNaughton, D., Beukelman, D., Fager, S. K., Fried-Oken, M., Jakobs, T., & Jakobs, E. (2019). Challenges and opportunities in augmentative and alternative communication: Research and technology development to enhance communication and participation for individuals with complex communication needs. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 35(1), 1-12.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07434618.2018.1556732
Munthali, A. C., Swartz, L., Mannan, H., MacLachlan, M., Chilimampunga, C., & Makupe, C. (2019). “This one will delay us”: barriers to accessing health care services among persons with disabilities in Malawi. Disability and rehabilitation, 41(6), 683-690.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638288.2017.1404148
Speight, J., Skinner, T. C., Dunning, T., Black, T., Kilov, G., Lee, C., … & Johnson, G. (2021). Our language matters: Improving communication with and about people with diabetes. A position statement by Diabetes Australia. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 173, 108655.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168822721000085
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