?Man ska vara slängd i käften och rolig? En kvalitativ studie om fysiskt funktionsnedsatta personers upplevelser och tankar om delaktighet i samhället.
Fysisk funktionsnedsättningDelaktighetAttityderArbetePhysical disabilityParticipationAttitudesEmployment
Background Participation in the community is vital to mental health and is beneficial to individuals and society. Many studies discuss this issue in relation to the disabled, and this study investigates this further. The goal of this survey, performed in Göteborg, Sweden, is to study issues relating to the participation of people with physical disabilities, according to their own perceptions and experiences on this issue. Method Qualitative methodology was used to explore experiences of participation in twenty physically disabled adults by means of semi structured personal interviews. Results From a social constructionist view, disability is explained in terms of being socially constructed. Through the social model of disability this study shows that disabled people encounter hindrances in form of societal barriers and negative attitudes in everyday life and on the labor market. Something that stands out clearly in the results is the fact that employment has a central role in participation. Themes that appeared in the material were: Attitudes and treatment, Employment, Possibilities for being influential, Social relationships and Self-image. Conclusion Participants emphasized the importance of being accepted by others, being treated equally, playing an active role in decision making and a need to be employed on the labor market. The informants explained their social relations to be few, but genuine, although several wanted to have more friends or longed to be in an intimate relationship. The majority was rather content with attitudes in society, even though several felt that employers generally had poor attitudes towards disabled. The importance of making the labor market more accessible for the disabled is highlighted in this survey.