[International Day of Persons with Disabilities] Let love have no “barriers”——Xinhua Rehabilitation Science Popularization 786 articles

December 3 this year is the 32nd International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The theme of this year's International Day of Persons with Disabilities is: United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities.

In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared that the International Day of Persons with Disabilities should be celebrated every year. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote people's understanding of disability issues and mobilize people to support the dignity, rights and happiness of people with disabilities. To care for people with disabilities, we need more understanding, more tolerance, more love and more dedication.

The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons" stipulates that disabled people include those with visual disabilities, hearing disabilities, speech disabilities, physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, mental disabilities, multiple disabilities and other disabilities.

As of 2021, the total number of disabled people in my country has exceeded 85 million. According to the latest data released by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the total number of disabled people in my country has reached more than 85 million, accounting for about 6.21% of China's total population, equivalent to 1 in every 16 people. However, the quality of life of disabled people is far from as good as we imagined.

According to a report released by the World Health Organization, many people with disabilities are at higher risk of premature death and illness compared to other groups in society. They have an increased risk of chronic diseases, and their risk of asthma, depression, diabetes, obesity, oral diseases and stroke is twice that of non-disabled people. This health disparity is partly due to the "unfair environment" in which people with disabilities live:

Inability to understand the format of health-related information

· Difficulty accessing hospital services due to physical barriers, lack of transportation, or financial difficulties.

Apart from medical issues, employment is another huge challenge for people with disabilities. The number of certified disabled people employed in urban and rural areas nationwide is 9.055 million, which is far from meeting the disabled people's desire to realize their self-worth and a better life.

Employment for people with disabilities is an effective way to improve their income, promote their social participation and achieve common prosperity. In the context of the increasingly complex overall employment situation and the profound adjustment of the employment structure brought about by technological development, the employment of people with disabilities needs special attention.

So what can we do for people with disabilities through rehabilitation?

1Rehabilitation therapy is a bridge for disabled people to return to their families and society. It mainly uses physical therapy, exercise therapy, life training, skill training, speech training and assistive device adaptation to help the disabled recover as quickly as possible, give full play to the functions of the remaining parts of the body, achieve the greatest possible ability to take care of themselves, labor and work, and help disabled patients return to their families and society to the greatest extent possible.

2. Create a barrier-free environment:

1. Set up barrier-free passages : There should be barrier-free passages at the starting point, end point, turning points and other places where necessary; barrier-free elevators should be installed indoors; barrier-free parking spaces and waiting areas for medical treatment should also be set up.

2. Set up a low-level service desk : A text display, language broadcasting device and a low-level service desk or window should be set up at the registration, payment and medication collection areas; the waiting area should have a wheelchair parking space. In actual situations, the setting of low-level self-service registration machines, which are in great demand, is often overlooked.

3. Accessible toilet

4. Information accessibility : The location and layout of information accessibility equipment and facilities should be reasonable. The visually impaired are the weakest group in terms of obtaining information, so better equipment and facilities should be provided to meet their needs.

The current proportion of disabled people in China receiving rehabilitation treatment is also worthy of our attention. By the end of 2022, 407,000 disabled children had received rehabilitation assistance. With a focus on low-income rural disabled people, targeted rehabilitation service actions for the disabled have been continuously carried out, with 8.567 million disabled people receiving basic rehabilitation services and 1.648 million disabled people receiving basic assistive device adaptation services.

Therefore, it can be seen that there is still a long way to go to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. I hope everyone can participate in the work of actively helping people with disabilities and contribute to providing an equal environment for people with disabilities.