Community inclusion of wheelchair users during the long-term recovery phase following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes

Research exploring how people living with disability experience community inclusion during the medium to long-term recovery following natural disasters is scant. Yet such information is vital to ensure that recovering communities are inclusive of all members within the population. This study explored the perspectives of people with specific functional needs, wheelchair users, regarding their experience of community inclusion in the four years following the 2010/2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. Thirteen adult wheelchair users were interviewed one-to-one and then invited to attend a group interview. The group interview presented a summary of the interview data for discussion to help clarify and prioritise elements of community inclusion. All data were subjected to thematic analysis. Four interrelated themes described the key elements of the participants' experience of community post-earthquakes: 1) earthquakes magnified barriers, 2) community inclusion requires energy, 3) social connections are important, and 4) an unprecedented opportunity for change. Findings emphasized the need for recovery energies at a local and national level to move from conceptualizing disability in terms of individual vulnerability, to instead, focusing on reducing environmental barriers that inhibit community inclusion. Of critical importance is creating pathways for people who experience disability to be co-creators of this change.