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Rethinking disability: the social model of disability and chronic disease

  • Ethics (CR MacKenzie and I de Melo-Martín, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Disability is commonly viewed as a problem that exists in a person’s body and requires medical treatment. The social model of disability, by contrast, distinguishes between impairment and disability, identifying the latter as a disadvantage that stems from a lack of fit between a body and its social environment. This paper describes the social model of disability and then considers how it might deal with chronic disease or impairment and why medical professionals should learn about disability perspectives to improve their practice.

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Conflict of Interest

Sara Goering declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Correspondence to Sara Goering.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Ethics

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Goering, S. Rethinking disability: the social model of disability and chronic disease. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 8, 134–138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9273-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9273-z

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