Last month, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a : "Optimizing care systems for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities." During this workshop, expert panelists, including myself, expressed a shared concern regarding the lack of accreditation standards when educating healthcare professionals to care for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Low accreditation standards for professional healthcare education programs are contributing to health inequalities that negatively impact the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a population that is still not officially considered to be . When health professionals don't understand how to care for people with disabilities, it promotes . As a result, patients with disabilities , which can put their lives at risk.
The Impact of Low Accreditation Standards
On Dec. 14, 2021, the updated its with a new section, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to protect workers who contract COVID-19. These guidelines were set because the impact of COVID-19 on the mind and body can meet the of a disability. While this disability qualification is important for the fair protection of workers with COVID-induced disabilities, the link between COVID-19 and intellectual disabilities remains underrecognized.
Considering that the second-highest for COVID-19 diagnoses and deaths is intellectual disability, equitable healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities is especially important during the ongoing crisis. Unsurprisingly, persons living at the intersection of disabilities with racial and ethnic minority identities are experiencing even related to COVID-19.
A major social determinant worsening these health inequities for patients with disabilities is the limited knowledge and competencies of nurses and physicians, the of healthcare professionals.
Higher Accreditation Standards Are Good for Health
In the U.S., have disabilities, comprising the largest minority group in the country. In addition, in the U.S. have developmental disabilities. With almost visiting a medical professional each year, healthcare providers should be better equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide high-quality healthcare to all persons with disabilities.
help to improve patient health outcomes because accreditation creates a set of quality standards for the education of healthcare professionals and allows healthcare students to transfer credits between institutions of higher learning. Accreditation standards are also important for access to federal and state funding, as well as private insurance.
Who Sets Accreditation Standards?
To be sure, accreditation bodies do exist for the education of healthcare professionals specific to their fields of study. For example, in medicine, there is the (LCME). In nursing, the most well-known accreditors are the and the (NLN). The NLN has also partnered with to develop the "Advancing Care Excellence for Persons with Disabilities." This free program can be used by nurse educators to teach nursing students proficiency in disability care -- although the program is not required for accreditation.
Yet, the lack of accreditation standards for disability education in medicine and nursing continues, despite legal and other advocacy efforts.
The (PPACA) passed in 2010. Section 5307 of the PPACA is specific to "cultural competency, prevention, and public health and individuals with disabilities training," and requires that the Secretary of HHS collaborate with health professional societies, licensing and accreditation bodies, the disability community, and others to develop, evaluate, and disseminate disability curricula for inclusion in health professional training.
While the is still pressing for accreditation standards, alliances and partnerships continue to build momentum for higher-quality disability education. Currently, is spearheading an effort to have specific language included in LCME accreditation standards. Furthermore, , a project that is building consensus on the competencies healthcare providers need to provide quality care to people with disabilities, has been developed to improve health education curricula.
The Role of Collaboration
Collaborative and robust planning models can improve education standards when training healthcare professionals who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Take, for example, the (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Autism program in Missouri. The is a cross-sector effort that democratizes expertise and disseminates best practices to clinicians, educators, and advocates. Tele-mentoring provided by the ECHO Autism virtual learning network helps to improve the skills of primary care providers by providing interdisciplinary expertise from parents and medical and behavioral health professionals. also offers real-time, localized connection to experts. As a result, the ECHO Model increases access to healthcare for underserved populations with autism.
It's time for accrediting bodies to get just as serious about developing higher accreditation standards to educate nurses and physicians. Additionally, accreditors could use the to create a shared agenda and measurement system to determine the impact of accreditation. By following the design of the Collective Impact Model, leaders in healthcare professional education can build trust and strengthen communication amongst participants and stakeholders to meet the goal of training healthcare professionals to better serve the disability community.
Accreditation standards that improve healthcare professional education will promote better health outcomes for persons with disabilities. Innovative models like ECHO prove the impact of meaningful collaboration between healthcare professionals, practice partners experienced in the field of disabilities, and disability advocates. But, most importantly, the disability community, particularly those with expertise in health advocacy, should be lead consultants when developing curricula language and programming specific to the medical needs of persons with disabilities.
is professor of nursing at Rush University and a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project. She is the for the PATH-PWIDD (Partnering to Transform Health Outcomes with Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) program funded by the Administration for Community Living, and the . She is also the mother of an adult son with intellectual disabilities.