Disability and Global Health

People living with disabilities have largely been overlooked as a priority population in global health research and practice. Thus, there is a critical need for a more nuanced understanding of disability that incorporates cultural attributes, ensuring that advocacy efforts and policy interventions are contextually relevant and inclusive. For effective inclusion of persons with disabilities in global health efforts, it is imperative to acknowledge the three main models of disability and their associated contextual underpinnings. The epistemology of disability varies across cultures and is typically categorized into three primary models: (1) the biomedical model, (2) the social model, and (3) the moral model. These guiding frameworks are indispensable in understanding how disability is defined within different cultural contexts and how societal processes shape these definitions through intergroup interactions influenced by foundational contextual factors. In understanding the contextual factors inherent in these models, researchers can develop programs that are tailored to meet the diverse needs of not only individuals living with disabilities but also those from varying cultural backgrounds, where the concept of disability may be understood and defined differently. In this chapter, a review of articles exploring how the three models of disability interact with cultural dynamics in the Global North and the Global South is provided. A thematic deductive analysis alluded to the importance of recognizing disability as a heterogeneous construct, with each experience and unique perspective allowing for a multidisciplinary approach to addressing global health challenges related to disability. Awareness and utilization of these integrated models can enhance the effectiveness of global health professionals in engaging and including people with disabilities as collaborators in research and future programming efforts.