Health Care Professionals and Their Relationships with Families Who Have Members with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The authors conducted a secondary analysis using combined data sets from two studies offamilies with children and adults with developmental disabilities/mental retardation (DD/MR). The combined sample (N = 72) included 42 parents and siblings of children and adults with DD/MR in Oklahoma and 30 parents and siblings of adults with DD/MR in Ontario. Families identifedfour themes that influenced their interactions with health professionals: valuation of the individual; quality of individual and family life; knowledge of health care professionals; andfacilitative/obstructive professional characteristics. The majorfinding was that parentsfelt that many health care professionals demonstrated a lack of respect toward their children and themselves, ignored their expertise in managing the disability situation, and rarely listened to them.