On April 8th, the first DISCA Student Meeting was held at the Diego Portales University in Santiago, Chile. The activity brought together undergraduate, masters and doctoral students involved in research within the DISCA Millennium Nucleus, with the aim of sharing topics of interest, getting to know each other and thinking about collaborative initiatives to support each other in the design, development and dissemination of their research.
The meeting, held in a hybrid format, was attended by 11 students (6 on-site and 5 online), who shared their research motivations and reflected together on possible dissemination actions. The director of the Nucleus, Florencia Herrera, welcomed the group and contextualized the current state of the project, which is in its third year of operation.
During the day, several ideas emerged to make visible the work that each student is developing. As a first step, a survey will be sent out to gather opinions and prioritize the proposals with the greatest support. In addition, a second meeting is planned in a month’s time, with a view to further strengthening the support networks among DISCA students.
There is a lack of data on health inequities experienced by people with disabilities in Chile. Hence, this study aimed to compare healthcare utilization, coverage, and barriers to accessing health services among people with and without disabilities in Chile.
We analysed data of the 2022 National Socioeconomic Survey of Chile. People with disabilities were identified based on the Washington Group Questions. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to compare the indicators of utilization, coverage, and barriers to accessing healthcare between people with versus without disabilities. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were reported with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI).
A total of 192,666 participants were included in the study; persons with disabilities represented 10 % of the sample (n = 21,769). People with disabilities were more likely to have had a health problem (aOR, 2·22; 95 % CI, 2·12-2·32) and more frequently used any type of health consultation, than those without disabilities. The coverage of adult health check-ups (aOR, 0·88; 95 % CI, 0·81-0·96) and Pap tests among women (aOR, 0·76; 95 % CI, 0·70-0·82), were lower among those with disabilities. Reports of experiencing any barrier to accessing healthcare were more common among people with disabilities.
People with disabilities in Chile continue to experience health inequities, both in terms of higher healthcare needs and lower coverage, and various barriers to accessing healthcare. Thus, a disability lens needs to be mainstreamed in the health system to leave no one behind.
Disability in Chile: An Introduction (The book is only published in Spanish)
“Disability in Chile: An Introduction” offers a comprehensive analysis of the physical, social, and attitudinal barriers faced by people with disabilities, while promoting a shift towards a human rights-based approach. This book aims to change the paradigm of disability in Chile, placing the issue at the center of public discourse from a social and human rights perspective.
Throughout its 10 chapters, it examines how people with disabilities face significant barriers to participating in society, from education and employment to family life, politics, and access to justice.
The text is not limited to a single disability but addresses a wide range of experiences, using a general and inclusive approach. Moreover, the authors, many of whom have direct experience with disability, provide evidence-based analyses and propose solutions to eliminate barriers that prevent full inclusion.
The book brings together contributions from leading experts and is aimed at a wide audience, including academics, people with disabilities, professionals in the field, family members, and anyone interested in social justice and inclusion.
How to Access the Book:
Purchase: Buy the physical book at bookstores in Chile. Reference price: $15,000 CLP.
En el Salón Montt Varas del Palacio La Moneda se celebró el inicio del trabajo de la Mesa Técnica para la Promoción de la Inclusión y Participación de Personas con Discapacidad en Educación Superior, hito que se enmarca en el convenio de colaboración firmado el año pasado entre el Servicio Nacional de la Discapacidad, SENADIS, y la Subsecretaría de Educación Superior del Ministerio de Educación.
En la instancia participaron autoridades de Gobierno como Javiera Toro, ministra de Desarrollo Social y Familia; el subsecretario de Educación Superior, Víctor Orellana; el director nacional del SENADIS, Daniel Concha; rectoras y rectores de instituciones de educación superior, parlamentarias de la Comisión de Educación de la Cámara de Diputados y Diputadas, e integrantes de comunidades educativas vinculadas a temas de inclusión y discapacidad.
La mesa de trabajo estará compuesta por equipos técnicos de la Subsecretaría de Educación Superior, SENADIS, DEMRE y representantes de instituciones de educación superior, además de organizaciones de estudiantes con discapacidad y de la sociedad civil. El objetivo del espacio será revisar y proponer políticas públicas enfocadas en la promoción de la inclusión y participación de personas con discapacidad en la educación superior, y sesionará mensualmente. En mayo de 2025 la mesa presentará un informe con orientaciones de política pública.
La ministra de Desarrollo Social y Familia, Javiera Toro, manifestó que “como Gobierno nos hemos trazado desafíos exigentes, con la convicción de implementar un sistema de educación pública, gratuita y de calidad. Esta mesa técnica es señal de esto. La educación superior de las personas con discapacidad es un derecho fundamental, cuyas condiciones de ejercicio deben ser garantizadas por el Estado”.
El subsecretario de Educación Superior, Víctor Orellana, señaló que “la inclusión es parte fundamental del derecho a la educación, no sólo para reconocer los talentos de las y los estudiantes, sino también para que el sistema educativo y las demás personas aprendan de quienes antes estaban fuera. Hemos hecho importantes avances en este sentido, pero todavía queda un camino importante por delante para que todas y todos los estudiantes tengan posibilidad de acceder a una educación superior con accesibilidad universal”.
El director nacional del Servicio Nacional de la Discapacidad, Daniel Concha, manifestó que “la educación es un pilar fundamental para las personas con discapacidad, para su desarrollo en cada etapa vital y el ejercicio de su autonomía. Desde SENADIS queremos darle a la educación inclusiva la mirada de curso de vida, que se ocupe del ingreso, la permanencia y el egreso de los estudiantes y las estudiantes, estableciendo un nexo posible y viable con la inclusión laboral. El convenio que hemos suscrito con la Subsecretaría de Educación Superior y el inicio de esta mesa técnica nos sitúa en el camino de este desafío para la educación inclusiva”.
En tanto, María Ignacia Fuentes, estudiante de Psicología y beneficiaria del Programa de Recursos de Apoyos para Estudiantes con discapacidad de Educación Superior del SENADIS, quien es persona sorda y, actualmente, realiza su práctica profesional en el Centro de Apoyo a Personas Sordas, durante la actividad expresó a través de lengua de señas chilena su mensaje: “Hola, hola… Esta es mi seña, mi nombre es María Ignacia, estoy estudiando psicología clínica, ya son siete años en la Universidad Católica, y quiero agradecer a SENADIS y también a mi Universidad Católica por todo el apoyo. Si no hay SENADIS, si no hay intérprete… cómo puedo aprender, cómo puedo entender a los profesores. Por eso quiero agradecer a la universidad los apoyos, los acompañamientos, los apuntes, la lectura fácil para que pueda entender mejor. Por ejemplo, si no hay apuntes, si no hay ayuda, cómo lo puedo hacer. No puedo mirar (a la intérprete) y leer a la vez. Muchas gracias de verdad por el apoyo. Ya me falta poquito para finalizar”, señaló la estudiante de Psicología, quien ha contado con el servicio de intérprete en lengua de señas chilena, permitiéndole el acceso a sus estudios e información durante su carrera.
With the presence of attendees from different parts of the country, Núcleo DISCA held the Seminar “Towards an equitable health system for people with disabilities”.
We counted with the presentations of 10 researchers in disability, including the presence of international specialists such as Dikaios Sakellariou, Pia Venturiello, Pamela Molina and Beatriz Miranda.
With the collaboration of the Fondecyt DisPar project (Reproductive processes and parental experiences of people with disabilities in Chile: discrimination, adaptation and resistance) and the Universidad Diego Portales, last December 14 – in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Social Sciences and History UDP – was held the seminar “Towards an equitable health system for people with disabilities” coordinated by the DISCA Core Team and with the special support of the Principal Researcher of the organization, Elena Rotarou.
With three panels during the day and the presence of people who had not participated in previous activities, we celebrated diversity and research in different segments. First, we opened with the panel that gave the Seminar its name, with the participation of Dikaios Sakellariou from Cardiff University, United Kingdom; Pía Venturiello, from the University of Buenos Aires and Pamela Molina, Executive Director of the World Federation of the Deaf.
Then, the panel “Reform of mental health legislation in Chile” was held with the participation of the lawyer and alternate director of DISCA, Pablo Marshall, Marcelo Sanhueza from the Ministry of Health and Alejandro Guajardo, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Santiago de Chile.
At the end of the activity we celebrated the panel called “Decisions, experiences and support in the reproductive stage of people with disabilities” with the presence of Jimena Luna, Project Coordinator at CEDETi UC and CIAPAT Chile, Andrea Yupanqui from the University of Magallanes, Beatriz Miranda, Coordinator of the Program of critical studies of “disability” and Melissa Hichins from Reprodis.
In this sense, we highlight “the quality of the presentations (which) was of a very high level and we were able to learn about national experiences and from different parts of the world regarding access to health care for people with disabilities (…) which allowed us to learn about other realities, allowing us to ask new questions about the barriers and support that exist in Chile. In addition, we are proud that we were able to have people with disabilities on all the panels. This allows us to continue advancing in our seal: that all these spaces are from people with disabilities and with people with disabilities”, says the team of Núcleo DISCA.
With the realization of this event, we see ourselves closer to the deaf community by having Carmen Figueroa, expert by experience of Núcleo DISCA who officiated as master of ceremonies. In addition, “Pamela Molina, from the World Federation of the Deaf, presented the work they have been doing in different communities; we have interpreters in Chilean sign language and with the attendance of deaf people in the activity. This makes us very happy and challenges us to continue advancing to reach all people with disabilities.
On November 23rd, the newspaper La Tercera published the article: “Unpublished study reveals that half of the people with disabilities in Chile have children”, based on a study prepared by Núcleo Milenio DISCA, from the latest version of the National Survey on Disability and Dependency (ENDIDE). The study revealed that 47.8% of people with disabilities in Chile are mothers or fathers and live with their children. This figure is similar to the non-disabled population with children.
“Until today we did not know how many people with disabilities are mothers and fathers in Chile,” explained the director of DISCA and author of the study, Florencia Herrera, who added that “the official data on parenthood does not ask about disability and the official data on disability does not ask about the presence of children. This is a transcendental data to guide public policies regarding family and childhood”.
To read the full article, you can visit the following link.
