Abuse in the health provider's office: Challenging the monolithic conceptualization of disability

Abuse is a public health concern; abusive life experiences increase risk factors for adverse health outcomes. While some research has been conducted to understand the nature and extent of abuse experienced by women with disabilities, little is known about the abuse experienced by men with disabilities (MWD). In addition, few studies have explored variations in the experience of abuse by length or severity of disability. The Personal Assistant Services Abuse (PASA) study explored the experience of abuse of 342 MWD age 18 and over who use personal assistant care at least 3 times a week. A secondary analysis of a sub-set of the data focused on respondents' experience of 14 negative behaviors by health care providers and their perceptions of the harmfulness of such behaviors. Analysis of the data suggests that the perception of harm and experience of abuse by MWD varies according to the duration and severity of the disability; men who had acquired their disability more recently were more likely to report abuse and perceive harm. In this presentation, participants will become familiar with the results of the analysis and explore their implications for public health practitioners. Specifically, participants will be challenged to question their assumptions about: 1) behaviors that MWD might perceive as harmful, and 2) conceptualization of disability as a monolithic category.