Seminar: Understanding health-related inequalities from a disability perspective – Advancing applied and human rights-based disability research in the context of Public Health
Professor Thilo Kroll, University of Dundee, UK
Understanding health-related inequalities from a disability perspective – Advancing applied and human rights-based disability research in the context of Public Health
Date: Wednesday, 7th May
Time: 3 – 5 pm
Where: UTS, Room 580, Level 5, Building 10 (645 Jones Street, Ultimo)
RSVP: sandris.zeivots@uts.edu.au
Abstract: The relationship between disability and health is complex and conceptually, socially and politically contested. Disability advocacy and rights legislation have for a long time aimed to distance disability from health. One of the unintended negative consequences has been that the inequalities that exist for people with disability when compared to those without in the area of health care access, utilisation and health and wellbeing outcomes have been largely ignored. As a group, people with disabilities have higher preventable mortality and health risk behaviour rates than the general population.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (2006) and the World Report on Disability (2010) have highlighted the necessity to tackle inequalities in health for people with disabilities through national legislation and practice. In the UK the Equality Act 2010 considers disability as a protected characteristic and requires public services, including health care to be non-discriminatory. In the United States, Healthy People 2010 (now 2020) included people with disabilities for the first time as a group along with the general population as a target of health promotion. In Scotland and other parts of the UK disability is currently included in several quality improvement initiatives.
A related problem is the non- or inadequate inclusion of people with disabilities in health care relevant research and in population health statistics.
This presentation will examine the role of public health research in relation to people with disabilities and provide examples from three areas of work: (1) Health care access and utilization; (2) Health promotion; and (3) Inclusion of people with disabilities in health care relevant research.
In January 2011 he became the Co-Director of the Social Dimensions of Health Institute (SDHI), an interdisciplinary research platform between the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews. In this capacity, he also holds an appointment as Honorary Reader in the School of Management at the University of St Andrews. The SDHI work has focused on working across social science and health-related disciplines to advance the understanding of the cultural, social, organisational and individual factors that impact the health and wellbeing of the population. The institute organises regular conferences, seminars, webinars and workshops.
Thilo Kroll is serving on several editorial boards for academic journals and is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal ‘Rehabilitation Process and Outcome’. He is also a regular grant reviewer for various scientific bodies, including the Chief Scientist Office, NIHR, ESRC. He is also the ESRC Doctoral Training Centre Pathway Contact for Health at Dundee University.
Thsi seminar is jointly organised with the Centre for Learning and Change at UTS.
