Problems of (in)accessibility of medical care for people with disabilities: an autoethnographic perspective of a wheelchair user

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of accessibility of medical care for people with disabilities. Drawing on autoethnographic analysis of personal experience, the author reconstructs the system of barriers faced by patients with musculoskeletal disorders when interacting with the healthcare system. Building upon empirical data and the conceptual framework of studies on unmet health care needs, the article identifies three groups of barriers: environmental, diagnostic-therapeutic, and relational. The study demonstrates that these barriers operate in an interconnected and systemic manner, and overcoming them requires a comprehensive approach that combines infrastructural and organizational changes as well as a transformation of social attitudes among healthcare professionals at all levels — from administrative personnel to junior medical staff.