A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions of Individuals with Disabilities Concerning Health and Rehabilitation Professionals

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Abstract
This paper examined the perceptions of persons with disabilities concerning their interaction with health and rehabilitation professionals. Data were collected and analysed with grounded theory methods, and resulted in a typology and a thematic analysis that found that: (a) most persons who perceived themselves to be disadvantaged by social oppression or stigma were also dissatisfied with health and rehabilitation professionals; and (b) those persons who de-emphasised the impact of disability either reported satisfaction with health and rehabilitation professionals or perceived their own efforts as being the primary factor in their ability to live with disability. The perceptions of respondents were, in most instances, mediated by dominant gender stereotypes.