Disability and Health

According to WHO, every individual can experience a decrement in health at a certain stage of life and, hence, some degree of disability. Aside from genetic factors and accidents, health and behavioural factors are primary contributors to the onset and process of disability. These include inappropriately treated diseases, depression, sensory and physiological impairments, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy dietary habits, obesity, substance and alcohol abuse, and smoking.[1] The high prevalence of these factors in any population is an important public health concern and requires proper intervention measures aimed at preventing disability and reintegrating affected individuals in normal life through rehabilitation and treatment.

Another health issue that requires consideration in public health policy is the relationship between HIV/AIDS and disability. Persons with disabilities are just as susceptible as non-disabled counterparts to different kinds of life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including HIV/AIDS. On one hand, persons with disabilities are at a higher risk of exposure to HIV for a number of reasons, including inadequate access to HIV prevention and support services, sexual abuse and unavailability of HIV information in accessible or tailored formats. Moreover, people living with HIV can develop impairments as the disease progresses, which interfere with their functional capacity and their participation in society.[2]

Additionally, the risk imparted by environmental health factors on the disablement process must not be underestimated. These include, among others, inadequate sanitation, unsafe water, pollution, and the use of pesticides and occupationally hazardous substances.

Whether congenital, environmental or behavioural, the extent to which these risk factors affect the prevalence of disability is not clear. It is certain, however, that countries worldwide have established different types of insurance systems aimed at alleviating the impact of these factors on the well-being of persons with disabilities through income maintenance and by providing health-care and rehabilitation services. These systems are identified as disability benefits or disability pensions, and are provided by government agencies to persons who become temporarily or permanently unable to continue working as a result of disability or work-related injury. The increased spending on disability benefits, particularly in EU countries and the United States, has fuelled the formulation of measures and policies that motivate persons with disabilities to return to work and reintegrate them in the labour market. One of the examples reported was that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where the expenditure on disability pensions increased from 0.9 per cent of GDP in 1980 to 2.6 per cent two decades later.[3]