Disability identity and attitudes toward cure in a sample of disabled activists.

This study investigates the assumption that disabled people want improvements in their functional abilities, or complete cures. Contrary to this assumption, many disabled activists are found to have attitudes in which they refuse treatment that promises a cure. In order to explain this attitude, different sources of disability identity are isolated as potential predictor variables. A multivariate model reveals that self-identity related to a personal affirmation of disability is a significant predictor of refusal of treatment, as is the age of onset of disability. Implications for interactions with medical professionals and utility-based modeling of medical treatment seeking are discussed.

Use of the SF-36 and other health-related quality of life measures to assess persons with disabilities.

This article evaluates the appropriateness of existing approaches to the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for persons with disabilities. We compare the conceptual model of HRQOL from the Medical Outcomes Study with the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. In addition, we examine the attitudes toward disease "burden" that arise from these 2 models. We note how values or the importance attached to domains of health can change with fluctuations in physical health. Further, we summarize arguments in favor of developing targeted measures of persons with disabilities. Finally, we discuss some methodologic issues in assessing physical functioning, attributions to health versus disability, and mode of administration. We conclude that users of "standard" HRQOL measures need to be aware of their limitations for assessing persons with disabilities.