Patient And Coworker Mistreatment Of Physicians With Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Medical Professionalism
• Health Disparities
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Physicians from underrepresented groups are vulnerable to workplace mistreatment.
• Mistreatment can negatively impact physicians' personal and professional lives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine workplace mistreatment experienced by physicians with disabilities.
• To determine if physicians with disabilities are more likely to experience mistreatment compared to their non-disabled peers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a nationally representative sample of physicians.
• Analyzed experiences of workplace mistreatment, including offensive remarks, physical harm, threats, and unwanted sexual advances.

Main Results:

• Physicians with disabilities reported a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing all types of mistreatment.
• This increased risk was observed in interactions with both patients and coworkers.

Conclusions:

• Physicians with disabilities face disproportionately high rates of workplace mistreatment.
• There is a critical need for disability-focused anti-mistreatment policies and practices in the medical field.