This document discusses using spatial science strategies to better understand the convergence of ageing, disability, and diversity globally and locally. It presents demographic data on disability rates by age in Australia and maps the spatial distribution of various factors. The document argues that spatial science can help visualize these complex issues, represent population data, and inform responses by providing an expanded evidence base. Building models incorporating various demographic and disability-related variables can help analyze the data spatially. Overall, taking a spatial approach can support understanding disability as a multidimensional, context-dependent experience.

1. Situating Disability and Diversity:
A Spatial Science Strategy
Presenter
Hamish Robertson
Faculty of Medicine
University of NSW

2. Contents
• Introduction
• Convergence issues at a global level
• Ageing, disability and diversity in context
• Spatial science as a key contributor
• Building a model
• Discussion
• Conclusion

3. Introduction
• Doctoral candidate on the geography of
Alzheimer's disease
• Experience in multicultural/diversity health,
patient safety, health/medical geography, ageing
research and disability
• Focus on spatial science applications in support
and critique of responses to above issues
• Exploration of value and utility of geographies of
health and medicine to emerging issues
• This is a large topic and only intended as a
partial overview

4. Global Convergence of Ageing Disability and Diversity
• Ageing, disability and diversity are converging now and into the future - locally,
nationally and globally -> spatial differentiation and inequalities
• Rising aged population = rise in people with disabling conditions (physical,
psychological and neurological -> cognitive problems) – variable patterns
• Diversity of ageing means disability paradigm will continue to expand e.g.
neurological conditions – identitification versus medicalisation
• Understanding the complexities of age and ageing are still very developmental –
and still mainly women who survive longest
• Social diversity (difference) problematic and problematised since inception e.g.
the uniform ethnic state, racism and eugenics – social categories as problems
• PWD construct not necessarily the basis for self-identification in older people
whose conditions are often slow and progressive
• Politics of ageing and aged care funding will converge with disability as
governments, NGO’s, families and individuals attempt to cope
• E.g. Diana Coole, 2012 on neoliberal discourse and new social risks (NSRs) and
Monique Lanoix on dependency aversion in bioethics

5. Persistent Vulnerabilities in Australia
Source: Travaglia, 2009
• The elderly
• People of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
• Immigrants - especially non-English speaking background
• People with disabilities, especially cognitive impairments
• Children and youth
• Patients with literacy and communication problems
• People from lower SES
• Geographically isolated individuals
• Socially isolated individuals
• The homeless
• The frail and malnourished
• Patients with co-morbidities and chronic illness
• Patients with high acuity
• Patients with liminal status (social, physical, geographic)
• Patients without an advocate in the system
Travaglia (2009)

6. Disability Rate by Age in Australia 2009 and 2012

7. 0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
0–4 5–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80–84 85–89 90 and
over
Age and Total Disability (%)

8. 0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
0–4 5–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80–84 85–89 90 and
over
Australia: Profound Disability by Age Cohort – 000’s
Source: ABS Disability Survey 2012

9. 0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
0–4 5–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80–84 85–89 90 and
over
Profound Disability Status by Age and Sex
Male
Female

10. 0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
ACT Northern
Territory
Western Australia NSW Queensland South Australia Victoria Tasmania
Total Disability by State/Territory (%)
0-64
65+

11. Spatial Science in a Rapidly Changing Disability
Environment
• Dynamics of the disability sector (inc. advocacy)
require an increasingly sophisticated evidence
base – competition, rationing, corporatisation
• Adaptation to an ageing world means conceptual
and epistemic dynamism – not the past re-
packaged and re-presented
• Spatial science a rapidly expanding and highly
interdisciplinary field of practice and theory
• This has value for disability/diversity/ageing
paradigms and their convergence
• Space and place are central to positions taken
and utility/value of responses

13. Viewing
Social
Inequalities
from
Space

14. Specific Cases: Relationship of Spinal Injury
Clients to Home Visit Staff

15. Building a Model
• Demographic variables – age cohorts, country
of birth, languages spoken, disability status
• Expanding the model of disability – physical,
psychological, behavioural, movement,
cognitive, pain etc (age-adjusted disability)
• Mapping the data analysis
• Visualising the outputs
• Making the evidence accessible

16. Discussion
• Ageing, diversity and disability are place-specific
constructs and experiences
• Non-teleological definitions and processes needed
i.e. not referenced to an ideal/idealised state or
group or entity
• Population ageing is adding to the complexity of
disability and diversity constructs
• Spatial science and technology can represent these
complexities in visual formats (2D, 3D, 4D etc) –
soon 3D printing will add tangible
• Disability is conceptually, temporally and spatially
contingent

17. Conclusion
• Ageing, disability and diversity all have key contextual
characteristics – place matters
• Convergence of these phenomena will increase
diversity of experiences and outcomes
• Responses by governments appear increasingly
problematic – blame, rationing, category games etc
• Spatial science and can support individual and
collective capacity to respond and inform your
evidence base – lobbying, negotiation etc
• Visualisation and a capacity to share approaches are
central to spatial science strategies
• Disability is a multi-dimensional experience, a
spatially informed approach supports disability in a
complex and changing world