Improving accessibility for all
Featured Products Promotional FeaturesPosted by: Dental Design 7th May 2022
Even in modern society, individuals with disabilities are still faced with numerous barriers when it comes to accessing care. Treating these individuals is not always straightforward, and, depending on the disability in question, there are usually multiple aspects to consider when it comes to being able to provide care that is comfortable and high quality.
Disability and the pandemic
Among many other interesting societal inequalities that the Coronavirus pandemic has brought to light, is the fact that disabled individuals were adversely affected more than their non-disabled counterparts. Research suggests that those with disabilities suffered from worse mental health issues and felt like they were more of a burden to others during this time.[i] What’s likely to have compounded these feelings is that disabled people are aware that the need for extra care is part of their lives. Having this restricted during the pandemic and services disrupted took away a feeling of security that these individuals rely on. Plus, these fears weren’t unfounded – research indicates that in the beginning year of the pandemic over half of the causalities were disabled individuals, and that this demographic is more than three times more likely to die from Covid-related complications.[ii]
But what are some of the common difficulties that disabled individuals face and how can healthcare providers help?
Hurdles to overcome
As the term disability is such a broad umbrella, it’s sometimes difficult to understand exactly how many hurdles there are in place when it comes to these members of society accessing care. For example, there may be very literal physical barriers that prevent individuals from visiting your practice or being able to use the systems in place. These can include stairs stopping wheelchair users from being treated in certain surgeries or even entering the practice at all, or CBCT systems that require a patient to stand during examination.
On the other hand, further barriers to care may not be physical at all. Does your practice have materials that can be utilised by visually impaired individuals? What about providing easy-to-understand videos and other alternative ways to give information for those with learning disabilities?
As you can see, there is no one solution fits all fix here; so dental practices should be making changes that benefit as many people as possible.
A focus on physical access
Physical disabilities are usually categorised as conditions that impact people’s mobility, physical capacity, stamina or dexterity. Therefore, it’s not just about assessing the accessibility of your building, but also seeing if there are user-friendly solutions available inside for these individuals too. For instance, alongside ensuring your practice has ramps, adequate corridor space and other helpful features where actionable, you can go further and think of disabled people when it comes to the layout of your whole practice. Are any of your surgeries with unique equipment upstairs when they could be on the ground floor? Could you install a lift on the premises? Not every solution is viable, but if you can make amendments where possible and make access easier for even a few disabled individuals, this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Helping those with mental disabilities
You should make every effort to ensure that your services are accessible by those with mental disabilities, too. While individuals with severe disabilities are likely to opt for specialist care, and those with moderate disabilities may have a carer, it’s still vital to take the time to ensure your practice is safe for these people. You also need adequate knowledge and understanding of their situation in order to provide quality care.
This segment of society suffers disproportionately from oral health issues such as caries.[iii] As such, educational resources are vital. It’s paramount to speak to those with disabilities as much as possible and keep them involved in their own treatment journey. Investing in a library of videos or pictures that explain treatments is a good way to help these individuals to better understand oral hygiene, and you can also support this approach with booklets, leaflets and other take away information that patients can look at with their carers or digest in their own time.
Technology to support everyone
The systems you use in practice can also make a huge difference in terms of accessibility. For example, the cutting-edge CS 9600 CBCT system from Carestream Dental is the only CBCT unit of its calibre to include an integrated retractable seat and helpful functionality such as an AI-assisted positioning system to help ensure that high-quality treatment for those with disabilities is more comfortable and accessible.
While our approach to caring for those with disabilities is above and beyond the standard it was mere decades ago, there is still considerable room for improvement. The pandemic has exacerbated existing access inequalities, and therefore it is vital that dental practices do all in their power to make services more user-friendly for people with disabilities of all kinds.
For more information, contact Carestream Dental on 0800 169 9692 or
visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk
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Author: Nimisha is the Trade Marketing Manager at Carestream Dental covering the UK, Middle East, Nordics, South Africa, Russia and CIS regions. She has worked at Carestream Dental for the past 7 years, where she has developed her marketing skills and industry knowledge to bring the core values and philosophy of the company to the market.
[i] Office for National Statistics. Coronavirus and the Social Impacts on Disabled People in Great Britain: February 2021. Link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsondisabledpeopleingreatbritain/february2021 [Last accessed January 22].
[ii] Disability Rights UK. Disabled People At Greater Covid Death Risk –ONS Research. Link: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2021/june/disabled-people-greater-covid-death-risk-ons-research [Last accessed January 22].
[iii] Owens, J. et al. Access to Dental Services for People with Learning Disabilities: Quality Care? Link: https://www.stephenhancocks.com/download.php?op=view_article&article_id=392 [Last accessed January 22].
