Module 6: Cripping Health Promotion
Access, Urban Life, and Structural Exclusion
Another context in which disabled people face systemic barriers to health promotion is access to good and adequate food in urban settings. Naomi Schwartz, Ron Buliung, and Kathi Wilson’s (2023) Toronto-based study of people who have mobility ‘limitations’ and/or use mobility aids illuminates the compounding economic, physical, and social barriers to accessing food. For the respondents in this research, it was not mobility ‘limitations’ related to their disabilities that most restricted their ability to access suitable housing, transportation, care, and choice in how and where to access food but rather the limited economic resources available to them. The findings highlight how cities like Toronto and their associated health campaigns are designed for statistically ‘normal’ (read: ‘healthy’) people who have control over their time and consumer choices without being restricted by functional or temporal barriers. State-level initiatives such as Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), AODA guidelines, and paratransit services serve as technical “box-checking” while being purposely inflexible and failing to meet real needs for access and livability (Schwartz et al., 2023). In effect, a healthy middle class is leveraged at the expense of disabled people, whose exclusionary treatment by civil society further compromises their health outcomes.
From the Community
In the clip below, Nafisah shares some of the she uses in the kitchen as a blind person. Consider how her experiences complicate public health messaging around “eating healthy” and reveal the everyday creativity disabled people use to navigate inaccessible environments.
Reflection Moment
Take a moment to reflect on the relationship between health and our economic systems.
Now, consider the following questions:
- How might these modern values impact the health of people with disabilities, including Indigenous disabled people?
- How is “health for all” conceived of in a capitalist framework? Who or what is left out? What needs to change in order to prioritize true health for all?
- How do Indigenous ways of knowing help us understand the relationship between the health of people and the health of the land?
In disability communities, hacks refer to creative, resourceful adaptations or workarounds that disabled people use to navigate inaccessible environments, technologies, or systems. These can include repurposing everyday objects, inventing tools, or developing strategies that support autonomy and access.
