A qualitative study of the perceptions of individuals with disabilities concerning health and rehabilitation professionals

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 typo logy and a thematic analysis that found that: (a) most persons who perceive d themselves to be disadvantaged by social oppression or stigma were also d issatisfied with health and rehabilitation professionals; and (b) those per sons who de-emphasised the impact of disability either reported satisfactio n with health and rehabilitation professionals or perceived their own effor ts as being the primary factor in their ability to live with disability. Th e perceptions of respondents were, in most instances, mediated by dominant gender stereotypes.