Health services

What are medical and hospital services?

Health facilities, whether public or private, must commit to providing equal treatment to persons with disabilities in the use of their services, programs, goods and facilities, as well as their accessibility.

They must ensure that persons with disabilities have the same opportunities to access services as others, under the same conditions and in the same place. This commitment applies not only to patients, but also to families, visitors and facility staff, whether they have visible or non-visible disabilities.

Overview of the situation

Nearly 8 out of 10 persons with disabilities have at least one chronic condition. This is a much higher proportion than for people without disabilities. Persons with disabilities are also more likely to smoke and not engage in physical activity. The literature review revealed that persons with disabilities are more likely to develop secondary conditions, i.e., health problems that are more prevalent in them than in the rest of the population.^[1]

The report indicates that persons with disabilities face more barriers to adopting healthy lifestyle habits than the rest of the population. These barriers include dependence on family caregivers, the need for support, the presence of more urgent needs, and difficulties in accessing transportation. It was noted that programs promoting healthy lifestyle habits, specifically adapted to persons with disabilities, would be particularly effective.

In addition, the report highlights the lack of differentiated data regarding access to preventive care for persons with disabilities, especially women’s participation in the Québec Breast Cancer Screening Program.

The report suggests that actions be taken to improve accessibility to programs promoting healthy lifestyles and to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to preventive care. This would reduce the health inequalities that they experience.

Percentage of Canadians with disabilities, by age group (2017 and 2022)

Total population aged 15 and older

• 2022 : 27,0 %
• 2017 : 22,3 %

Youth (15–24 years)

• 2022 : 20,1 %
• 2017 : 13,1 %

Working-aged adults (25–64 years)

• 2022 : 24,1 %
• 2017 : 20,0 %

Seniors (65 years and older)

• 2022 : 40,4 %
• 2017 : 37,8 %

Some barriers faced by persons with disabilities and how to address them:

Removing barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing health care is critical. While these barriers persist in both developed and developing countries, their magnitude varies. Challenges include difficulties in accessing medical care and treatment, therapies, assistive technologies and education, as well as phenomena such as neglect, marginalization, exploitation, stigma and humiliation.

Persons with disabilities often experience poorer health than the general population. Until recently, these disparities were often seen as an inevitable consequence of disability. However, it is now widely recognized that these inequalities can be due to discrimination and inequities in access to health care.^[2]

In the health field, stigma and discrimination create additional barriers for persons with disabilities. These barriers are manifested in several ways:

• Physical barriers, which prevent persons with disabilities from accessing clinics and hospitals.
• Information barriers, which prevent persons with disabilities from accessing medical documentation, brochures and information materials intended for health promotion, prevention and protection.
• Attitudinal barriers, which lead to discrimination that can have a significant impact on the rights of persons with disabilities, especially those with psychosocial disabilities.
• Institutional barriers, which include legislation, practices and procedures that restrict access to health care for persons with disabilities.

Services for people with physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities have also been criticized, particularly because of cultural barriers and communication issues. Differences in access to health and social services may arise depending on the availability of these services. In addition, the quality of services may vary between groups, with some not even aware that certain services exist, either due to their scarcity or because they are not offered to certain groups.

It is important to improve access to the health care system for persons with disabilities and to ensure that it can respond quickly and appropriately to their needs.