Large majority of doctors hold misconceptions about people with disabilities, survey finds
A new survey of U.S. doctors finds that more than 80% believe people with a significant disability have a worse quality of life than those who are not disabled, underscoring how physicians’ perceptions across specialties could negatively influence the care of the more than 61 million Americans with disabilities.
In the analysis, published Monday in Health Affairs, 82% of surveyed doctors thought the quality of life of those with disabilities was either “a little worse” or “a lot worse” than those without. While about 80% said they strongly agreed that it is very valuable to understand their patients with disabilities, only 18% strongly agreed that patients with disabilities are treated unfairly in the health care system.
