Search Results (55)

The Spanish audiovisual industry has experienced unprecedented growth, offering new employment opportunities. In this context, the aim of the present work is to analyse the perceptions of experts on the motivations and barriers that affect the employment of disabled people in this industry. This research adopts a sequential mixed-method design, combining a focus group with a two-round Delphi technique, and involved participants working in audiovisual companies, specialised job portals, disabled people associations, and research. The results indicate that despite the prior limited experience with people with disabilities, audiovisual companies show a positive attitude towards their employment. Nevertheless, barriers persist related to a lack of confidence in their work performance and their ability to adapt to the demands of the position. Likewise, remote work, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence are perceived as facilitators of inclusion, although their effectiveness depends on provision of adequate training and accessibility. These findings suggest that from an expert’s perspective, the inclusion of disabled people in the audiovisual sector depends on organisational factors, accessibility conditions, and adequate training. Full article

Despite the known benefits of workforce participation, many individuals with disabilities remain excluded. This exploratory study utilises selected analytical tools from constructivist grounded theory to investigate how 46 diverse stakeholders perceive disability during the transition from higher education to employment. Additionally, it examines how these perceptions influence efforts toward inclusion and the advice given regarding disability disclosure. Six workshops were conducted to facilitate dialogue on pathways to work for students with disabilities. The constructivist approach to analysis leads to the development of several concepts that capture stakeholders’ perspectives on disability, their strategies for promoting inclusion, and their recommendations regarding disclosure. Disabilities are conceptualised as an asset, a liability, or as insignificant. The views of disability as an asset or a liability influence advocacy strategies and disclosure recommendations, ranging from celebrating to concealing. These attitudes also shape how individuals who disclose disabilities are perceived. Society often expects people with disabilities to disclose their conditions to promote inclusion, even though performing such can involve risks like stigma and exclusion. At the same time, employers share responsibility for creating inclusive environments through universal design and supportive practices. The findings show that both disclosure and concealment can lead to inclusion or exclusion, emphasising the importance of universally designed institutions. Full article

Despite growing interest in the sexuality and gender identity of people with disabilities (PWD), this topic remains underexplored in both research and institutional policies, owing to prevailing views that ignore PWD sexual life. This contributes to the invisibility of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) and to inadequate attention to the specific needs of LGBT people with disabilities (LGBT PWD). Background/Objectives: Given the lack of Portuguese studies that examine the intersection of LGBT and disability identities, this study aimed to understand professionals’ attitudes and practices toward PWD regarding sexuality and LGBT belonging. Methods: We conducted qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with eleven professionals (two psychologists, three occupational therapists, and six personal assistants). We analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Key findings highlight professionals’ limited knowledge, prevailing cis-heteronormative attitudes, and emerging affirmative practices. Conclusions: Training and institutional changes are needed to make services more inclusive and responsive to the needs of LGBT PWD. Full article

The protection and promotion of the human rights of individuals with mental disorders is a critical global priority, and initiatives such as the WHO QualityRights program aim to strengthen rights-based mental health care. We aimed to investigate the impact of the QualityRights core training on promoting knowledge and practices among healthcare professionals regarding the human rights of individuals with mental disorders, and to assess whether this training can reduce the stigma associated with mental disorders among these professionals. A quasiexperimental pre–post study was conducted with 26 primary healthcare professionals. Of these, 14 provided complete paired data, enabling direct comparison before and after the intervention. Participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing attitudes toward people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities. Data were analyzed using paired statistical tests for pre–post comparisons, followed by multiple linear regression to examine factors associated with changes in scores. The training produced meaningful improvements in several items related to autonomy, legal capacity, coercion, and rights-based practices. Higher educational level was associated with greater attitudinal change. The WHO QualityRights training positively influenced healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward human rights in mental health. Future research should include larger samples and long-term follow-up to strengthen the evidence base and evaluate the sustainability of these changes across diverse care settings. Full article

The research explores the attitudes of students without disabilities towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in Physical Education classes. It analyses how gender and previous contact with people with disabilities influence these attitudes across four Spanish-speaking cities. The study involved 3732 secondary school students from Spain and Chile. Data was collected using the Students’ Attitudes Towards Integration in Physical Education (CAIPER-R) instrument. The results indicated that girls generally have more positive attitudes towards inclusion than boys. However, previous contact with people with disabilities did not significantly affect the students’ attitudes. There were also differences observed across the cities, with Extremadura showing the highest inclusion scores. This study highlights the importance of gender in shaping attitudes towards inclusion in PE. It suggests that new educational policies are effectively promoting inclusion across culturally similar countries, such as Chile and Spain. Full article

Inclusive education represents a central pillar of social sustainability, demanding a nuanced understanding of the factors shaping students’ attitudes toward people with disabilities. Grounded in the social–relational model of disability—which conceptualizes disability as the interaction between individual characteristics and environmental barriers—this study examined the effects of emotionally valenced video stimuli (positive, negative, neutral), gender, and tolerance level on university students’ attitudes, using a randomized quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. The intervention was implemented entirely online to ensure consistency and accessibility. A total of 179 undergraduate students from the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest (Romania), aged 20 to 23 years (M = 21.4, SD = 1.6), participated in the study, which lasted approximately two weeks. Participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments, including the Elementary Tolerance Scale and a 25-item Attitude Scale combining strengths-based descriptors with stereotype-consistent items used diagnostically to detect bias (without endorsing such framings). Results revealed a significant main effect of video type, F(2,176) = 10.07, p < 0.001, with higher post-test scores for the positive condition (M = 93.82) compared to the negative (M = 85.88) and neutral (M = 82.67) conditions. Gender (p = 0.033) and tolerance level (p = 0.034) also emerged as significant moderators. We explicitly reject deficit-oriented terminology, contextualizing its use solely for diagnostic and analytical purposes; wherever possible, affirming, strengths-based, and socially grounded language is prioritized. These findings highlight the value of brief, emotionally tailored interventions for fostering inclusive attitudes in higher education and emphasize the importance of ethically curated, co-designed educational materials and measurement practices grounded in dignity and human rights. Ethical Note (Content Warning): The study adopts a social–relational, human-rights perspective on disability. Deficit-based narratives were analyzed exclusively as subjects of critique and are not endorsed. Descriptions of the “negative” stimulus were deliberately minimized to reduce potential harm and included only for scientific transparency. Negative-valence questionnaire items reflect prevalent stereotypes and were used solely as diagnostic indicators of bias. Future research should prioritize collaborative co-creation with scholars and advocates with disabilities and employ ethically curated, inclusive stimuli. Full article

This research aimed to evaluate the emotional intelligence of future teachers and its relationship with attitudes towards people with disabilities, sexism, and bullying behaviors. Using a non-experimental design under a quantitative approach, 1004 future teaching subjects were selected by convenience sampling from different Faculties of Education in Spanish universities. The following instruments were applied online: for emotional intelligence, the TMMS-24; for bullying assessment, the Bullying Questionnaire-CAME; the General Scale of Attitudes towards People with Disabilities (2016) and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). Results indicated that both male and female future teachers exhibited low levels of emotional intelligence. A correlation was observed between greater emotional intelligence and more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities, as well as a lower tendency towards sexism. Additionally, a relationship was found between greater emotional attention and a lower tendency to bully from the victim’s perspective. These findings highlight the importance of developing emotional intelligence in future teachers to improve their interactions with students and promote a more inclusive and respectful school environment. Full article

Despite advances toward disability inclusion, high-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) is often inaccessible for disabled communities. Confounding this issue, each individual’s experience of SRE is shaped by aspects within their environment, such as societal contexts, cultural factors, policy frameworks at the national and local levels, and the attitudes of parents and educators. This informal review of the literature synthesizes historical and contemporary literature—focusing primarily on individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism—to explore the multifaceted barriers and opportunities for effective SRE. We have situated the literature within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to illuminate how interactions among and within the environment shape individual experiences with SRE. The literature outlines several barriers to successful SRE programs for the disabled community, including pervasive misconceptions about the sexual and relational needs of disabled individuals, inadequate training for educators, and limited empirical evidence underpinning best practices. Our paper underscores the need for comprehensive, evidence-based curricula that align with the desires of the disabled community, are accessible to people with disabilities and their communities, and employ a variety of instructional methods to support learning across the life course, beginning in adolescence. We conclude by outlining future directions for research and practical solutions for curriculum development, emphasizing the importance of addressing these multi-layered challenges to enhance SRE for disabled people and their communities. Approaching and conceptualizing the literature within a systems framework and through our shared perspectives and experiences is noteworthy, as our review provides a descriptive and unique lens to understanding SRE influences on people with disabilities nationally and internationally. Full article

The present study investigated the impact of a disability awareness program on the attitudes of university students at Al-Ahliyya Amman University towards people with disabilities. The study employed a randomized, two-group, pre- and post-test design. A total of 60 university students were randomly allocated to either the experimental or control group. The results of a survey showed that those in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, exhibited a statistically significant increase in the favorability of their attitudes towards people with disabilities following the implementation of the program. Based on the results of this study, we recommend implementing disability awareness programs inside universities and subsequently evaluating their effectiveness in enhancing student attitudes and interactions with people with disabilities, which in turn could lead to a more inclusive society and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by reducing social barriers and fostering greater understanding and acceptance. The limitations of this study include its restriction to a single university setting and its utilization of a rather small sample size. The study did not assess the long-term effects of the disability awareness program. Full article

Inclusive Education emphasizes equal opportunities for all students by reducing or eliminating barriers that hinder participation and learning, encompassing cultural, social, practical, and political dimensions. In this context, the development of positive attitudes towards disability is a key component for the success of inclusive educational practices, particularly in adapted physical education. Following a prior analysis of the impact of academic curricula on attitudes toward disability, the need to implement training programs focused on attitudes toward disability becomes evident. The aim of this study is to analyze how a training program, with a specific focus on attitudes toward disability, affect the attitudes among university students. A quasi-experimental approach with a control group was employed to evaluate the impact of the training. A total of 137 University students from Extremadura, across Physical Activity and Sport Science and Early Childhood Education programs within the same educational department, participated in this study. The Spanish Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities Scale for Professionals was administered to students at the beginning, after the theoretical intervention, and after having a guided contact with people with disability. Results revealed improvements in attitudes in the social relationships and normalized life dimensions, as well as in the total score, particularly among students from Early Childhood Education. No significant changes were observed in the intervention program dimension. Within-group analysis indicated significant longitudinal improvements in normalized life for both experimental groups, Sports Science and Early Childhood Education students, and in the total score for Early Childhood Education students by the end of the intervention. These findings highlight the importance of targeted training interventions in promoting inclusive attitudes, especially when direct contact with individuals with disabilities is incorporated. Full article

Background/Objectives: The perspective from which future healthcare professionals view intellectual disabilities affects how people with intellectual disabilities (PWIDs) are perceived and informs care policies and practices. This study aimed to assess healthcare science students’ perceptions of the rights of PWIDs, the students’ social distances toward PWIDs in healthcare, and the students’ competence in providing care, exploring differences by study programs and demographics and examining correlations between them. Methods: The convenience sample comprised 221 medical and 120 nursing students. A general questionnaire for obtaining sociodemographic data, the scale of beliefs about the rights of PWIDs in healthcare (BS), the scale of social distance toward PWIDs (SD), and the “self-assessment of competency (CS) to provide care for PWIDs” scale were used as students’ report measures. Results: The students’ scores on the BS, SD, and CS scales revealed that they generally recognized the rights of PWIDs in healthcare but expressed a moderate level of social distance and limited self-perceived competence in providing care. Medical students demonstrated slightly more progressive beliefs regarding the rights of PWIDs than nursing students (r = 0.12), while nursing students reported higher self-assessed competence levels (r = 0.19). A small gender-related difference was observed in social distance, with female students showing more favorable attitudes. Significant positive correlations were found between beliefs about the rights of PWIDs and social distance (p = 0.435; p < 0.01) and between social distance and self-assessed competence (p = 0.234, p < 0.01), suggesting that students who felt more competent tended to report less social distance. Conclusions: This study provides new data for understanding healthcare science students’ perceptions and readiness to care for PWIDs in the healthcare sector in Serbia. Namely, our students had moderately positive beliefs and a moderate social distance toward PWIDs and reported low competence in providing care. Full article

Although Zimbabwe has made significant progress regarding the development of a policy framework that caters to the needs of people with disabilities through various pieces of legislation, such as the Disabled Peoples Act (DPA), ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and adopting a new Constitution which has provisions for disability rights, people with disabilities in Zimbabwe are yet to benefit from these policies, as they are not fully implemented. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 youth aged between 18 and 35 with disabilities, and 5 key informants in Gweru, to analyze their perceptions regarding the disability policy framework in Zimbabwe. Most of the youth with disabilities lacked knowledge on the various policies regarding disabilities. This was attributed to poor implementation of such policies and a general negative attitude of society towards disability rights. Youth with disabilities are not fully benefiting from the current disability policies due to a lack of knowledge and some implementation gaps. The participants suggested full implementation of such policies and involvement of youth with disabilities in policy formulation and implementation. Full article

Social sustainability that starts from the workplace is a relevant factor for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on this need, this study analyzes the role of virtuous leadership as facilitator of health and inclusive work environments that integrate followers’ psychological well-being and their attitudes towards people with disabilities. An exploratory design was used with latent variables to assess the proposed virtue-based ethical leadership adjustment model for social sustainability, which presented efficient absolute, comparative, and parsimonious adjustments for its operationalization. In conclusion, virtuous leadership plays a relevant role in the development of followers’ psychological well-being, and attitudes towards people with disabilities in the workplace, contributing to the social sustainability criteria from the work environment. Full article

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder generally experienced as challenging, as it impacts multiple aspects of an individual’s life. There is a significant gap in the literature surrounding ADHD in adults, including experiences of stigma and social inclusion from the perspective of people with ADHD. This study aimed to explore perceptions and experiences of social inclusion and stigma amongst a sample of university students with ADHD living in Ireland. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants (four men and three women), including two follow-up interviews. The participants were all university students with an official diagnosis of ADHD. Data from the interviews were analysed using the descriptive and interpretive method of Constant Comparison Analysis. In total, sixteen categories (themes) were extracted and classified into five overarching domains: informational access, access to healthcare, attitudinal access, social inclusion, and academic accommodations. The findings indicated that ADHD adversely affects university students’ experience of social inclusion. Barriers to effective healthcare, negative attitudes towards ADHD, and misinformation/lack of information were all highlighted as risk factors for feelings of social exclusion. Universities should include students with disabilities when designing policies and provide accommodations to support them. Additionally, greater awareness and informational access is imperative to improving social inclusion for people with ADHD. Full article

This paper examines a donor-funded development project in the rural mountainous districts of Vietnam aimed at improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for vulnerable households, particularly those with disabilities. The study investigates the project’s impact on disability inclusion at the household and community levels and identifies factors that support or hinder progress towards inclusion for people with disabilities. Data from a survey of 600 households and interviews with household members and village chiefs provide insights into the perceptions and attitudes towards persons with disabilities (PWDs), and practices of disability-inclusive WASH. While progress has been made in changing attitudes towards the rights of PWDs, there is still room to improve practices, especially in engaging with PWDs, offering affordable disability-inclusive WASH services, and including them in WASH policy decisions. This paper highlights the need for a comprehensive approach that extends beyond household interventions and emphasizes a shift in mindset towards disability inclusion at all societal levels. Full article