Developing and Validating Measures of Structural Ableism to Improve Health Outcomes for the Disability Community:...

Area of Science:

• Health Equity Research
• Disability Studies
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Structural ableism, the systemic privileging of able-bodied individuals, is a primary cause of health disparities within the disability community.
• Existing measurements for structural ableism and its health impacts are inadequate.
• Developing validated measures of structural ableism is crucial for addressing these health inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the methodology for developing and validating measures of structural ableism.
• To create tools that will enable the study of relationships between structural ableism and health outcomes.
• To facilitate both individual-level and community-level analyses of structural ableism's health effects.

Main Methods:

• A three-phase project involving text analysis, key informant interviews, and community-engagement studios.
• Characterizing structural ableism through historical/ideological analysis and input from disability rights advocates.
• Developing individual-level measures in Phase II and community-level measures in Phase III, with extensive community involvement and diverse participant representation.

Main Results:

• The project, funded in August 2024, has analyzed over 50 texts by October 2025.
• Characterization of structural ableism is projected for completion in Spring 2026.
• Individual-level measures are anticipated by Winter 2028, and community-level measures by Winter 2029.

Conclusions:

• The developed measures will establish a foundation for identifying and assessing interventions to dismantle structural ableism.
• Interventions must be co-created with the disability community to effectively address structural ableism.
• This work aims to advance health equity by providing tools to measure and combat structural ableism.