About the Donnelley Family Disability Ethics Program

Disability, though an ever-present part of the human condition, has remained under-examined and poorly understood in bioethics and medicine. Yet people with disabilities frequently need health care services and may experience substandard care, prejudice, and inaccessibility in  health care settings.  DFDEP seeks to improve the care that people with disabilities receive through education, research and consultation.

DFDEP integrates clinical, bioethics, and disability studies theories. The major areas of focus are education, research, hospital-based services such as clinical ethics consultation, and community activities that increase awareness of disability and ethics. The program has facilitated various projects including: genetics and disability, physician assisted suicide, families and traumatic brain injury, disability and the arts, and end of life care and disability.

DFDEP is part of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), a leader in comprehensive rehabilitation health care services for people with disabilities and a major affiliate of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It is an ideal setting to translate academic theory into clinical practice.