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Human Development &
Capability Association

Multi-Disciplinary and People-Centred

Health and Disability

This thematic group is a network of social scientists, physicians, public health practitioners, and philosophers interested in health and disability issues from a capability perspective. Through the past several conferences on the capability approach and now through our growing network of participants worldwide, group participants have begun to examine a number of issues at the nexus of health, disability and capability including, but not exclusive to, questions of social justice; resource allocation; HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral therapy; reproductive health; impairment, disability and special needs; health system financing and access; capabilities and functionings; responsibility; disability and poverty; aging; disability and income conversion; genetics; gender disparities and health; social determinants of health; and micro-credit participation and health.

For recordings of previous webinars, please go the following link: https://hd-ca.org/video_category/hdca-webinar?post_types=videos

For the latest news and activities from the Health and Disability Thematic Group, please register to join the group by clicking on the registration link on this page (free). For any queries about the group, please contact one of the thematic group coordinators.

News

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Videos & Webinars

Transition with Dignity: Agency of young adults with significant disabilities in their exit from school

June 9, 2021

Speaker: Sarah Hart, University of Hartford, CT

While many young adults look forward to leaving school with a sense of both excitement and apprehension, individuals with significant disabilities may approach this critical life stage far more passively. This webinar describes how the capability approach framed qualitative research studies conducted on the perspectives of young adults with significant disabilities living through these experiences in the United States and Aotearoa New Zealand. Opportunities are examined for dignified transition procedures that benefit individuals and lead towards a more equitable society.

HDCA Webinar 2021 Health and Disability HDCA Videos
65 minutes

Health justice for all: A capabilities framework for health system development in the conflict-affected context of Myanmar

Speaker: Dr Sharon Bell, The Workshop, New Zealand

Conflict is a leading risk to development progress and fragile and conflict-affected contexts have high rates of poverty and limited access to crucial services such as healthcare. Myanmar is such a context, facing critical shortages in its health services leading to significant health inequities for ethnic communities. Ethnic non-state armed groups have formed regimes which seek self-determination as well as to establish alternative health systems in parallel to the state system to improve the wellbeing of their people.

This webinar considers how the capability approach can be operationalised in conflict-affected contexts to better navigate the ongoing challenge of addressing health inequalities and working towards health justice for conflict-affected communities. It draws on a qualitative case study of a partnership between an international non-governmental organisation and an ethnic non-state armed group in a health workforce training programme in Shan State, Myanmar. 

HDCA Webinar 2021 Health and Disability
53 minutes

Inclusive Data and Statistics: Human Development and Disability Indicators in Low- and Middle-income Countries

Presenter: Sophie Mitra, Fordham University

This study first examines to what extent household surveys and censuses in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) include disability questions and the types of questions under use. It then disaggregates human development indicators across disability status to assess the situation of persons and households with disabilities with 24 censuses and general household surveys from 21 LMICs. Findings have implications for data collection, research and policy.

Sophie Mitra is professor of economics and founding director of the Research Consortium on Disability at Fordham University in New York City. She has studied the economic impact of disability and mental illness, the effects of social protection programs, multidimensional poverty, the association between disability and poverty, the definition of disability. She is the author of Disability, Health and Human Development (Palgrave MacMillan, 2018).

HDCA Webinar 2021 Health and Disability HDCA Videos
56 minutes

Capabilities at the end of the life-course: exploring issues of measurement

Presentation by Professor Joanna Coast, University of Bristol

This webinar starts from the perspective that it is potentially valuable to measure capabilities at the end of life, to aid in the evaluation of particular health and care interventions, but focuses on the associated measurement difficulties.  It considers the options for measuring capabilities, considers who should measure capabilities and what the potential measurement issues might be with different approaches.  It utilises two qualitative case studies to shed light on measurement issues that might occur when the person at the end of life measures capabilities and when others assess their capabilities. 

HDCA Webinar 2021 Health and Disability HDCA Videos
58 minutes

All Videos & Webinars

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