The Rights of Disabled People in Iran: A Meta-synthesis Study

Abstract

Objective There are so many people with disabilities worldwide. This condition has led to taking various national and international measures regarding the rights of people with disabilities. Protecting the rights of people with disabilities in the context of international methods is an important issue that has been explored for years. This study aims to explain the dimensions of the rights of people with disabilities in Iran. Materials & Methods In this study, the meta-synthesis method was used, and the statistical population of the research articles was extracted from various research databases, such as Magiran, Normgaz, Regional Information Center for Science and Technology, Science Net Database, Nematan, Civilica, and Humanities Portal were selected. In this study, based on the inclusion criteria, such as title, abstract, content, and quality assessment of studies, 14 articles were finally selected for study analysis. In addition, the time frame of this research is from 2009 to 2020. Also, this study used the 7-step method of Sandelowski and Barros (2007) to analyze the research data. Results The most important rights of the disabled are employment, human value and dignity, education, belonging, proper design of urban furniture, access to health services, elimination of social discrimination, recreation and leisure, social security, freedom, and transportation. By reviewing and integrating the initial findings in this study, after going back and forth between sub-fields, 7 main fields of disability rights were obtained: cultural, economic, political, architectural and urban rights, social, medical, and legal rights. This study examined the content validity ratio and content validity index. The opinions of 8 experts in this field have been used to calculate this ratio. Concerning the content validity ratio, it should be said that it was acceptable for all dimensions. The Kappa index has been used to measure the reliability of the designed model; the kappa coefficient is calculated to be 87%, which is at a high level of the agreement due to the status of the kappa index. Conclusion Legally, people with disabilities have cultural, economic, political, architectural, urban, social, medical, and legal rights. Different and negative views of managers and individuals in society have led to disregarding the rights of people with disabilities. Lack of proper knowledge about people with disabilities and subsequent marginalization will have negative consequences. Proper knowledge of this phenomenon and awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities is an effective step toward developing a country. Most people with disabilities have been deprived of their basic social, economic, political, and cultural rights. In this regard, pervasive stereotypes, attitudes, and discrimination have reinforced this injustice. It is worthwhile that by changing the perspective of the international community, government, and citizens, able-bodied people can live a just life alongside others. The Iranian government can assist people with disabilities in enacting and enforcing various laws on the rights of persons with disabilities.