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Disabled and elderly people in the First, Second and Third Worlds
1School of Education, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11550.
Summary
Disability impacts all nations, with 80% of individuals living in developing countries. Policy must integrate accessibility and adaptability, leveraging technology for cost-effective solutions.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Disability Studies
- Socioeconomics
Background:
- Disability prevalence and impact vary significantly across developed, communist, and developing nations.
- Over 80% of the global 500 million persons with disabilities reside in developing countries, a figure projected to rise to 90%.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore guiding principles for national disability policies worldwide.
- To identify design principles for effective disability support.
- To examine the role of information-age technology in disability prevention, rehabilitation, and employment.
Main Methods:
- Policy analysis across different global economic structures (First, Second, and Third Worlds).
- Examination of key values: integration and normalization.
- Assessment of design principles: accessibility and adaptability.
- Consideration of technological advancements in disability services.
Main Results:
- Integration and normalization are identified as crucial values for national disability policies.
- Accessibility and adaptability are proposed as useful design principles.
- Economic disparities significantly influence the implementation of technology for disability support.
Conclusions:
- Nations must integrate principles of normalization, integration, accessibility, and adaptability.
- Cost-effective solutions require a synthesis of these principles tailored to national contexts.
- Information-age technology offers potential but faces economic barriers in developing nations.