Employmentweb_low

EmploymEnT, woRk, and hEalTh inEqualiTiEs - a global perspective
case study 81. People with disabilities and health inequalities in Australia and New Zealand. - paula veciana and Joan
benach
disability is not something individuals have. What individuals have are impairments that may be physical, sensory,
neurological, psychiatric, intellectual or of other types. disability is thus the process which happens when one group of
people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairments other people
have. along with other citizens, disabled people aspire to have good employment and working conditions. However, they also
face huge barriers to achieving the employment and work that so many take for granted. these barriers are created when
a society is built that takes no account of the impairments other people have (Ministry for disability issues, 2001).
it is estimated that between 4 and 20 % of the world's population have a disability, depending on the definitions and
study methods that are used (Metts, 2004). disability can be defined from many perspectives which result not only in different
estimates but also in different understandings, concepts and policies regarding disability. impairment indicators give lower
estimates on the extent of disability than those figures which are based on the functional definition. For instance, in chile a
household survey that used functional indicators maintained that 21.7% of households had a member with a disability, while
a study using impairment indicators resulted in a figure of 5.3%.
disabled people belong to the most vulnerable, poor and excluded groups and have fewer assets and means to escape
from poverty. people with disabilities make up 15-20% of the poor in low income countries (elwan, 1999). out of the 1.3 billion
people who are extremely poor, approximately 260 million have disabilities (i.e., about 43% of the world's population have
some disability). Most disabilities are strongly related to poverty and unsafe living and working conditions. Malnutrition
causes 20% of disabilities, accidents/trauma/war 16%, infectious diseases 11 %, non-infectious diseases 20%, congenital
diseases 20%, others (including ageing) 13%. lack of access to medical care and rehabilitation leads to worsening
limitations on activity. these, in turn, combined with social stigma, discrimination and physically inaccessible living
environments, tend to generate a process of exclusion from participating in employment, social life, schooling, and
vocational training. in the end, it results in a life-long exclusion from mainstream society.
Many specific groups are recognized to be at risk of inequalities in health including prison inmates, asylum seekers, the
homeless, and people with physical and mental disabilities. particular sub-populations of australia, such as people with
disabilities, are more likely to be living in disadvantage, and are more likely to lack access to social, geographic and economic
resources for good health and wellbeing. the state of victoria is located in the south-eastern corner of australia and is the smallest
mainland state in area. it is also the most densely populated and urbanised. about 20% of people living in victoria report having
a disability, ranging from 19% among people born in australia to 40.8% among people born in southern and eastern europe
(australian bureau of statistics, 2004a, cited in vicHealth, 2008). the relationship between health and disability is complex, as it is
influenced by the complications of the disability itself, the impact of functional limitations associated with the disability, and by
broader social and economic conditions experienced by people with disabilities. there is also variability in the extent and nature
of disability. nevertheless, it is widely accepted that this group is ‘deserving of attention in its own right from the perspective of
health as well as disability’. people with disabilities have been found to have demonstrably poorer access to the social and
economic resources required for health, experiencing higher rates of unemployment (9% compared with 5% for the general
population), lower rates of workforce participation (53% compared with 81% in the general population), lower average incomes,
and higher social isolation, additionally, there is strong evidence that people with disabilities face barriers to accessing health care
services, and have lower rates of participation in illness prevention programs. only 52.25% of people with a disability rated their
health as good, very good or excellent, compared with 85.4% of all victorians (vicHealth, 2008).
in new Zealand, the “new Zealand disability strategy” promoted by the Minister for disability issues has postulated a
number of actions to provide opportunities in employment for disabled people including the following points: to provide
education and training opportunities to increase the individual capacity of disabled people to move into employment; to
enable disabled people to lead the development of their own training and employment goals, and to participate in the
development of support options to achieve those goals; to educate employers about the abilities of disabled people; to
provide information about career options, ways to generate income, and assistance available for disabled people; to
investigate longer-term incentives to increase training, employment and development opportunities for disabled people; to
ensure a smooth transition from school to work; to investigate the requirements of the ilo convention on vocational
rehabilitation and employment, with a view to ratification; to encourage the development of a range of employment options
recognising the diverse needs of disabled people; to ensure disabled people have the same employment conditions, rights
and entitlements as everyone else has, including minimum wage provisions for work of comparable productivity; to make
communication services, resources and flexible workplace options available; to operate equal employment opportunity and
affirmative action policies in the public sector; to investigate a legislative framework for equal employment opportunities
across the public and private sectors; to ensure disabled people have access to economic development initiatives; to
encourage staff and service organisations (for example, unions) to appoint or elect disabled people as delegates and
members of their executives (Ministry for disability issues, 2001).
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