Article

Drawing on data from a larger study, the aim of this paper is to
illuminate how the everyday doings of women with disabilities are coordinated to
and shaped by organizational processes and social context, particularly as these
relate to the potential of being labelled disabled.
METHODS: An institutional
ethnography was conducted with seven Austrian women diagnosed with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA). Interviews and participant observations were conducted, and texts
about the historical development of disability policies were identified. Data
analysis included grouping similar doings of participants together to
subsequently explore links between what the women did and how their doings are
shaped by disability policies and the social context. RESULTS: The women, who
participated in this study, spent time and effort to keep the disease invisible,
resist disability and negotiate a disability pass. By drawing upon the historical
development of Austrian disability policies, the interpretation reveals how this
development infiltrates into participants' lives and shapes their everyday doing.
CONCLUSION: This study furthers understanding of how broader policies and
practices, shaped over historical time, infiltrate into the daily lives of women
with disabilities. It illustrates how full participation may not necessarily be a
lived reality for people with disabilities at this point in Austria. Implications
for Rehabilitation Maximising full participation for people with rheumatoid
arthritis is important. This requires focusing not only on the bodily health of
people with rheumatoid arthritis but also on their interaction with the social,
cultural and political context in their daily lives.
This requires also
understanding how knowledge about disability is passed on from previous
generations.

Langue : ANGLAIS