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New research indicates that 5% of practicing physicians report a disability "always or often," and another 12% report disability "sometimes." The authors call for action on improving accessibility to ensure equity and sustainability in the physician workforce. The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"Physicians with disabilities frequently face discrimination, inaccessible workplaces and inadequate support," writes Dr. Michael Quon, a general internal medicine specialist and clinician investigator at The Ottawa Hospital and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, with co-authors.

"Not retaining physicians with disabilities in the workforce means losing skilled providers with valuable perspectives, negatively affecting human health resources. Improving accessibility in medicine is important."

The study, based on data from the 2021 Canadian long-form census, helps fill an important gap in evidence about the prevalence of disability in practicing physicians and their demographics. Unlike other studies, which were voluntary, the census is mandatory, with a 97% completion rate by a randomly selected 25% of the population living in Canada, making this study nationally representative.

The most commonly reported disability was mental health (40%) followed by visual (37%), hearing (15%), mobility or physical (13%) and cognitive or learning (6%). Disabilities were more common in female (6.0%) than male physicians (4.5%).

2%)," says Quon.

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