Greater participation in public space
Work, leisure activities and independent mobility are all important factors when it comes to mental health and contentment with life. In a research project, people with disabilities tell us where they encounter obstacles.
Fabienne Dütschler cannot use the zebra crossing at Bülach railway station. The ramps are so steep that her electric wheelchair is in danger of tipping over or getting stuck. This means that she has to cross the busy road a few metres to the left. As she is moving out from behind a waiting bus, two cars come towards her – neither of them stops. The building of the vascular medicine practice, at least, has an entrance accessible without steps. However, the front door is so heavy that it is impossible to open it from a seated position. At Fabienne Dütschler’s request, the practice has now installed a button on the wall. Once pressed, the door opens automatically, meaning she can get to her appointments independently.
The 54-year-old suffers from a muscle disease and had two brain haemorrhages a few years ago. She is paralysed on one side and has been dependent on a wheelchair for longer journeys since 2018. She is currently participating in the “Mobile” research project, which the ZHAW Institute of Occupational Therapy is conducting together with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland in Lausanne and other partners. The project team is carrying out 50 qualitative interviews across Switzerland with people living with various disabilities. In addition to physical impairments such as walking, hearing and visual disabilities, the project also takes mental, psychological and cognitive limitations into account. In the second phase, a quantitative survey of around 500 people is planned.
Public transport on board
“Mobility is important for social participation,” stresses co-project manager Brigitte Gantschnig, Head of Research and Development at the Institute of Occupational Therapy. Being able to participate has a profound impact on health and contentment with life. However, it is still all too often difficult for people with disabilities to move around independently in public. Many find themselves denied access to public transport, restaurants, cultural venues, sports and leisure facilities, public buildings, educational institutions and places of work, even though the Disability Discrimination Act has been in force in Switzerland since 2004. Public transport was actually supposed to have been made barrier-free within 20 years. According to the professor, however, some 40 percent of railway stations and 66 percent of bus stops are still not accessible to everyone. The new study, which is being funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, is comparing the mobility, social participation and contentment of people with and without disabilities. The project team also wants to identify common obstacles and measures to overcome them, and to present potential political courses of action to the responsible authorities. An advisory board with representatives from disability organisations, the public transport sector, administrative bodies and the political sphere will be involved for the entire duration of the project, which will run from 2024 to 2028. Brigitte Gantschnig is delighted that representatives from the public transport sector and transport services in general have shown great interest in the topic and have proven to be open to new insights despite the fact that public transport is often attacked for not being sufficiently disability-friendly. “It's great that they're still taking part.”
“In many cases, even small improvements would be helpful to ensure accessibility.”
Resistance to suggestions for improvement
Fabienne Dütschler is frequently faced with obstacles. However, when she tries to encourage improvements, she is often met with resistance. At the Bülach Stadthalle event venue, for example, there is a wheelchair-accessible toilet, but there, too, the door is too heavy for her. “I reported this to the venue’s management, but I was told that there was nothing they could do,” she explains with a palpable sense of frustration. In summer, she enquired about a lift at the outdoor pool that would allow her to get into the water. However, this request was also dismissed. She was told that they didn't have time during peak season to install the lift for her. This answer didn't go down well with Dütschler. “I also like to go swimming when it’s hot.” The Bülach native is one of those people who don’t let things get them down so easily. When she experiences obstacles that she believes could be removed without too much difficulty, she turns to the mayor personally or to the municipal administration. Fabienne Dütschler says that she recently collected signatures in the old town in support of the federal inclusion initiative, which was submitted in September. “I’m always fighting my corner, no matter where I am.”
Exhibition aims to make obstacles visible
As part of the “Mobile” project, the participants of the study contribute their perspectives by taking photos of obstacles that make it difficult for them to participate in society – a scientific method dubbed PhotoVoice. The project team wants to organise an exhibition with these pictures. “We want to raise awareness among the public and those responsible at organisations by making the obstacles visible,” explains Brigitte Gantschnig. In many cases, even small improvements that wouldn't require too much effort would be helpful – such as a flatter ramp at the zebra crossing or an automatic door opener, as in Fabienne Dütschler’s case.
Allowing children and young people to help shape the future
Children have no say in many issues, despite being directly affected by them. This contradicts the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Switzerland is a signatory. Under this convention, children and young people should not only be heard, but they also have a right to information, to free expression of opinion and representation in decision-making bodies.
The Participatory Methods for Children and Young People centre at the School of Health Professions is working to help increase the involvement of this population group in ZHAW projects. “Children often find themselves to be the subjects of research rather than being allowed to act as co-researchers,” says the centre’s head Christina Schulze from the Institute of Occupational Therapy. Specialists from various fields including architecture, health, law, social affairs and education are to be offered advice and support with respect to concept development, ethical issues, recruitment, the choice of methods and implementation.
Depending on the project, there are various methods that are suitable for involving children and young people. For example, you can observe them in their everyday environment, take them on a walk to a particular place, allow them to take photos, organise a workshop with handicraft materials or develop ideas as part of group interviews. “Children are very creative,” emphasises Schulze. Of course, they will also sometimes make unrealistic suggestions such as building a roller-coaster in the playground or offering free cola in the school building, which is why it often takes a bit of translation work to get to the heart of the underlying need, according to Schultze. “It’s not about fulfilling their every wish, but rather about entering into a dialogue with them.”
Among other things, the specialist centre is affiliated with the Single Parents Winterthur project, in which children can express their needs. As part of the Hand in Hand programme, two health professions students offer support to single-parent families by lending a helping hand with household tasks or childcare for two hours a week. In return, they receive two to three credits. “This experience allows students to gain insight into a different world,” says Moira Trüb from the Institute of Public Health, who is responsible for the programme.
(Photo: Conradin Frei)
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