1.

Should people with physical disabilities be accepted by the public and private
companies for employment?
According to The Washington Times (2005), in developing countries, 80% to 90%
of people with disabilities of working age are currently unemployed, whereas in
industrialized nations, the figure is between 50% and 70%. Further, in most developed
countries, the rate of unemployment for persons with disabilities of working age are at
least twice that for those who have disability. Those figures show how difficult it is for
persons with disabilities to be employed as opposed to their perfectly abled
counterparts. This raises issues as to the reasons behind these statistics and the
reasons why employers are hesitant in hiring persons with disabilities, as well as raising
the issue on whether persons with physical disabilities should be accepted by the public
and private companies for employment. Such discriminatory practice by public and
private companies should be eradicated, since this creates an avenue of unfair
practices and fosters a world of unequal opportunity.
Several studies have presented the benefits of employing persons with
disabilities. According to the Job Accommodation Network (2010), Employers report that
accommodations provided to workers with disabilities typically cost little to nothing, but
are generally effective and “worth the investment,” in terms of retaining experienced
workers and increasing productivity. Further, Chan et. al. (2010) states that human
resource and other high-level managers indicated a generally favorable attitude towards
workers with disabilities, citing a commitment to hiring workers with disabilities. On the
issue of absenteeism, many studies show that people with disabilities take fewer
absence days and are more aware and conscientious of safety in the workplace
because of their disabilities (Rise, 2018). Despite these positive results, there are still
companies that are hesitant when it comes to hiring persons with disabilities.
A 2011 Study by Kaye, et. al. enumerates the reasons as to why public and
private companies are hesitant in hiring persons with disabilities which include a lack in
awareness of how to deal with and accommodate workers with disabilities, concerns
over the potential expense of accommodating a worker with disability, and concerns
about legal and financial risks should a workplace injury or accident occur. Another
major concern was job performance, wherein respondents are concerned that workers
with disabilities might not perform as well as other workers and might present problems
with illness and absenteeism. However, It is worthy to note that a majority, if not all of
these reasons are just “concerns,” and are not substantiated with sufficient weight of
evidence which justifies discrimination towards persons with disabilities.
The importance of employment cannot be overstated. Employed persons with
disabilities contribute to the economy and the society. Not hiring someone based solely
on physical disabilities is not just unfair, it is discriminatory. It deprives a willing and
motivated individual to obtain an opportunity based solely on their physical disability.
The barrier of discrimination must be eradicated by legislation, as well as by actual
practice. In addition, their contributions to society must be viewed at par with their

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 perfectly able-bodied counterparts through equitable wages and employment benefits. A
world where discrimination does not exist is far from being achieved but providing
employment opportunities for persons with disabilities is a step towards the right
direction.

2. Is there a link between poverty and poor health? (How does poverty contribute
to poor health?)
To understand poverty, it must first be defined. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (2015) defines poverty as a condition in which “a person or group of
people lack human needs because they cannot afford them.” Several studies show that
there is a strong link between poverty and poor health. According to The World Bank
(2014), poverty is a major cause of poor health and a hindrance to access to health care
when necessary. This relationship is financial in nature. The poor does not have access
to acquire things that are needed for good health which includes sufficient quantities of
nutrient-rich food and health care. Low-income individuals face greater barriers in
accessing medical care. They are less likely to have health insurance and access to
modern health services. There is, therefore a strong link between poverty and poor
health.
A study by Chetty et. al. (2016) found out that since 2001, life expectancy has
increased by about 2.5 years for the top 5 percent of the income distribution, whereas
there have been no gains for those in the bottom 5 percent. This shows that looking at
the overall population, those with higher incomes have more access to the best
healthcare and preventive measures which could stop health problems in the first place,
thus increasing life expectancy. Another factor is that low-income individuals have
higher rates of behavioral risk factors which include substance use, obesity, among
others (Yu et. al, 2010). Another challenge raised by Larson et. al. (2008) is that low-
income communities face other challenges that contribute to higher rates of obesity and
other chronic diseases including no access to fresh foods, higher densities of fast-food
restaurants, and an environment that is just not conducive to physical activity. As a
result, poor adults face higher risks of obesity and are more likely to be unable to meet
the guideline-recommended levels of physical activity.
Some studies question the direct relationship between poverty and poor health.
Some of these studies point out that individual poverty does not necessarily
predetermine poor health by itself. Poverty does not “cause” a disease. Rather, it
affects the likelihood that an individual will have risk factors for disease and their ability
to prevent and manage the disease. A person’s overall health will ultimately be
determined by genetic and environmental factors, as well as health behaviors. Thus,
poverty is not the only determinant to poor health (Glass & Mcatee, 2006). However,
those studies do not completely undermine the argument that poverty does, indeed
affect health. In fact, the only strong argument against this position is that it is not the

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 sole reason for poor health. However, strong evidence still points to the conclusion that
poverty is one of the major factors that influence health.
The challenge now raised is on how to decrease the disparity between the rich
and the poor in order to ultimately resolve the problem of lower-income households not
getting the appropriate and necessary health care. Governments from all over the world
must make healthcare free for all, or at least make health care subsidized in order to
make it affordable for everyone, regardless of socio-economic status. Based on the
aforementioned data, addressing the issue on poverty is also, in a way, addressing the
issue on poor health. Thus, improving public health does not just constitute building
more hospitals and making medicine more widely available, it can also be achieved
through providing equal job opportunities for everyone, pay livable wages, and other
ways to alleviate poverty and in that way, public health can be improved as well, which
is even more relevant now, as we all face a global pandemic.

REFERENCES
1. Should people with physical disabilities be accepted by the public and private
companies for employment?

The Washington Times. (2005). Disabled still face hurdles in job market. Retrieved
January 29, 2021, from
https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-
with-disabilities/disability-and-employment.html

Statistic Canada. (2014). The competitive advantage of hiring persons with disabilities.
Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-dhaka/documents/publication/wcms_543490.pdf

Kaye, H. S., Jans, L. H., & Jones, E. C. (2011). Why don't employers hire and retain
workers with disabilities?. Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 21(4), 526–536.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-011-9302-8

Job Accommodation Network. (2010). Workplace accommodations: Low cost, high

Chan F, Strauser D, Maher P, Lee EJ, Jones R, Johnson ET. (2010). Demand-side
factors related to employment of people with disabilities: a survey of employers in
the mid-west region of the United States. J Occup Rehabil.

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 Rise. (2018). Why don’t employers hire people with disabilities? Retrieved January 29,
2021 from https://risepeople.com/blog/why-dont-employers-hire-people-with-
disabilities/

2. Is there a link between poverty and poor health? (How does poverty contribute
to poor health?)

The World Bank. (2014). Understanding poverty health. Retrieved January 29, 2021
from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/health/brief/poverty-
health#:~:text=Poverty%20is%20a%20major%20cause,quality%20food%20and
%20health%20care.&text=Ill%20health%2C%20in%20turn%2C%20is%20a
%20major%20cause%20of%20poverty.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Social determinants of health.
Retrieved January 29, 2021 from: https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/poverty-
health.html

Glass TA, McAtee MJ. (2006). Behavioral science at the crossroads in public health:
extending horizons, envisioning the future. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62(7):1650-1671.

Chetty R, Stepner M, Abraham S, et al. (2016). The Association Between Income and
Life Expectancy in the United States,JAMA. 2016;315(16):1750–1766.
doi:10.1001/jama.2016.4226

Yu, D., Peterson, N. A., Sheffer, M. A., Reid, R. J., & Schnieder, J. E. (2010). Tobacco
outlet density and demographics: analysing the relationships with a spatial
regression approach. Public health, 124(7), 412–416.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2010.03.024

Larson, N., Story, M., Nelson, M. (2008). Disparities in access to healthy foods in the
U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.025

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