A participatory action strategy to enhance community awareness of and social participation by people with disabilities

With the growing number of individuals with disabilities, communities need to do more to strengthen the awareness of disability-related accessibility and social participation. The objectives of this pioneer project are 1. to investigate the level of awareness of disability-related issues in arts and culture among stakeholders in a Midwestern town, and 2. to assess the need for a bold, sustainable action plan. Qualitative data were collected from four focus groups: 1. managers of arts and culture organizations, 2. people with disabilities, 3. caregivers and service providers, 4. other stakeholders. Key strategic questions were explored: what is the level of awareness, what is done and what needs to be changed? Results: 40 individuals (17 males and 23 females, between 18 and 84 years of age) voluntarily participated in the focus group discussions in the fall of 2009. Several themes emerged: 1. Lack of awareness/promotion of accessibility and disability-related participation in arts and culture events, lack of awareness of access issues among people with disabilities, lack of awareness of the health implications of arts and culture; 2. A need for a central connector, one location for information sharing (using telephone or the internet); 3. A need for related policies. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was used to identify and map the key issues for analysis, revealing a wide range of environmental factors influencing participation by people with disabilities in arts and culture events. Plans for a participatory action strategy (at the individual, community and policy level) will be discussed.