Hidden disability: Identifying people with potential disability in a metropolitan hospital.
Karen Phipps1, Claire Formby1, Rebekah Parker1, Lisa Hardwick11St Vincent’s Hosptial Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Abstract
Background: People with Disability (PWD) experience significant health disparities and have more frequent presentations to healthcare settings than people without disability. Identification and recording of disability status is not standardised at State or Federal level. Without reliable and consistent tools for the identification of PWD, risk of unequal health outcomes remains.
Objective: We aimed to investigate and identify potential prevalence of PWD and relationships between PWD, social history and demographics.
Methods: Retrospective clinical auditing within two health service areas aimed to identify People Likely to have Disability (PLD). Data analysis compared characteristics of PLD to those who likely did not have disability to identify potential relationships.
Results: Of 227 patients attending either the Emergency Department (ED) or a Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic (DEC) for selected dates, 30.7% and 13.8% respectively were identified as PLD. Significant associations between PLD and representation within 28 days (ED p =< .001, DEC p= .008), number of presentations within the previous 12 months (ED p= .001), and social factors (need for assistance personal and community tasks, mobility aid user, Disability Pension recipient) were identified.
Discussion: Disability prevalence for people attending our health service is likely higher than the general population, potentially >30% of presentations are PLD. Significant associations between PLD and increased healthcare utilisation were found. Medical records often lacked detail and frequently failed to identify PLD. Future research should examine how to best identify PWD and investigate how digital health resources may be able to assist with this.
Biography
Karen Phipps is the Lead Disability Liaison Officer, with a background in physiotherapy, working at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. Karen has 30 years of experience working both in Australia and internationally. For the last 20 years her primary area of expertise has been in disability. She has been the recipient of multiple grants, totalling in excess of $125,000 for disability specific healthcare initiatives.