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Purpose: This study provides evidence to clarify disability inclusiveness in activities of rural business. As an alternative to the analysis method that deals with disability-inclusiveness as a vague concept, knowledge management principles were applied to propose a classification method for disability-inclusive business as an emerging concept at the community level.

Methods: The analysis focuses on: 1) productivity of entrepreneurs with disabilities; 2) knowledge of entrepreneurs with disabilities; and 3) understanding of customers. A total of 50 entrepreneurs with disabilities in micro and small businesses in Southeast Asia were identified in this context. Data were collected and analysed according to a story-based knowledge management approach and value chain analysis. Fuzzy logic analysis which exploited domain ontology was utilised to convert knowledge from tacit to explicit, in line with knowledge management principles. A numeric weight based on linguistic variables became available to describe each disability-inclusive business case, as well as the arrangements of fuzzy sets.

Results: Out of 50 cases, 7 were classified as fully disability-inclusive while 14 were classified as not disability-inclusive. Productivity of entrepreneurs with disabilities in 3 elements of the value chain, namely procurement, product/service development and distribution, was observed to be significant. The Study showed that disability-related knowledge of entrepreneurs with disabilities could contribute to business performance according to the key success factors to enhance added value. Two elements of the value chain, namely sales/marketing and customer service, are not the decisive factors to define and clarify disability-inclusiveness. 

Conclusion: Settings in Southeast Asia are diverse and at varying stages of economic and social development; hence the environment which promotes the disability-inclusive business concept may be inconsistent. Micro and small- scale rural businesses were tackled as a first step to evaluate comparative efforts of each case of disability-inclusive business from the viewpoint of entrepreneurs with disabilities. Therefore, in highlighting the differences, it is recommended that further research should seek to apply weighting factors depending on the individual size, contents and scale of major business areas.

Purpose: Post-polio Syndrome (PPS) affects polio survivors many years after the initial attack, and causes new musculoskeletal symptoms and decline in physical function. This study aims to compare the effect of exercise and lifestyle modification versus lifestyle modification alone, on fatigue and functional capacity in persons with PPS.

Method: An experimental study was conducted at the physiotherapy department of VS Hospital in Ahmedabad. As per the criteria of Halstead (1985), 21 PPS subjects who were between 18 and 65 years of age, and able to walk indoors and outdoors, with or without assistive aids, were included. They were randomly allocated into 3 groups using the envelope method. Those with physician- diagnosed respiratory or cardiac insufficiency, disabling co-morbidity which interfered with the intervention programme or influenced the outcome, and those unable to cooperate due to cognitive impairment or use of any psychotropic drugs, were excluded. Fatigue and functional capacity were measured using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and 2-minute walk distance, respectively. Physical and psychological functions were assessed using Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) respectively. Intervention was given for 5 days a week, over 4 weeks. Group A received exercise and lifestyle modification, group B received lifestyle modification alone and group C continued their usual routine for 1 month.

Results: There was a significant difference in fatigue and functional capacity within groups A and B, with group A showing better reduction in fatigue than groups B or C. Physical function improved only within group A, and a significant difference was seen compared to groups B and C. Psychological function showed no difference within or between the groups.

Conclusion: There was improvement in fatigue, functional capacity and physical function in PPS subjects after 4 weeks of exercise and lifestyle modification. Lifestyle modifications alone for 4 weeks improved fatigue and functional capacity in PPS subjects. There is significant reduction in fatigue and improvement in functional capacity when lifestyle modification advice is given along with exercise.

Background: This qualitative–exploratory study examined the barriers to participation amongst children with disabilities in Lusaka, Zambia, from the mothers’ perspective.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to understand how mothers of children with physical and cognitive disabilities who engaged their children in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) services in Lusaka, Zambia, perceived and described (1) the level of support they received and the barriers they encountered in terms of their child’s meaningful social participation; (2) the use and awareness of these barriers to identify and pursue advocacy strategies; and (3) hopes for their child’s future.

Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with each mother in her home.Results: Findings revealed both support and barriers to the child’s social participation in relationship to their family, friends and community. Support also came from the CBR programme and mothers’ personal resourcefulness. Mothers identified their child’s school,their immediate environment and financial burdens as barriers to participation as well as their own personal insecurities and fears. Strategies to overcome barriers included internal and external actions. The mothers involved in the study hope their child’s abilities will improve with continued CBR services. Some mothers described a bleak future for their child due to alack of acceptance and access to education.

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest the significant role the mother of a child with a disability plays in her child’s social participation. Recommendations include enhancing CBR programming for families, especially for mothers, and advocating on behalf of children with disabilities and their families to attract the attention of policy makers.

Although there are no national data and statistics regarding violence against disabled citizens in Brazil, findings from a number of small-scale research studies suggest that it is a problem of considerable magnitude. This article draws on the existing literature on violence and oppression, empirical studies on violence against disabled people in Brazil and interviews with a sample of disabled Brazilians to argue that the most prevalent forms of violence in the nation are subtle and concealed forms of oppression that reproduce discriminatory power structures in Brazilian society. Such power structures prevent the developing world in general and Brazil in particular from securing democratic and sustainable development in the post-2015 era, when disadvantaged people must be at the center. The analysis is organized in three parts. First, I outline briefly the main issues in defining impairment, disability and violence, since these represent political choices that shape policy decisions. Second, I analyze the forms of violence that affect disabled Brazilians and the relationships and institutions that create and sustain them. Third, I describe and evaluate the government's key current strategies aimed at addressing violence against disabled Brazilians. The purpose here is to suggest ways in which violence against disabled Brazilians can be addressed in public policies as a sustainable development issue and thus help close the "gap" between disabled and nondisabled populations to create truly sustainable democratic societies that honor human dignity.

Purpose: A literature review was undertaken to determine (a) what is currently being done to bring out-of-school children into schools and retain them there; (b) what has succeeded in bringing out-of-school children into schools and retaining them;and (c) what is being done to bring out-of-school children with disabilities into schools?

Methods: Various databases were searched to identify relevant articles for the review. Only articles published after the year 2000 were included in the analysis.

Results: A total of 23 articles were reviewed. The review identified economical, socio-cultural and school-related variables that contribute to children being excluded from schooling. Various strategies that have worked to bring out-of-school children into schools include alternative education, rebates and incentives, and community awareness programmes.

Conclusions and Implications: The review found that there is insufficient research on out-of-school children with disabilities. However, research on the population of children without disabilities has implications that can be relevant to children with disabilities.

Background: A disability grant is the financial assistance given by the government to South African citizens and bona fide refugees who have debility that results in inability to work. Doctors in state hospitals and clinics are tasked with the duty of assessing applicants for this grant. Ideally, the assessment is done by an institutional committee consisting of a doctor, physiotherapist, social worker, occupational therapist and specialised nurses. However, this is not always the case because of a shortage of personnel, particularly in rural areas. A lack of clear guidelines for the assessment process has led to confusion and differences in the outcomes. This poses major problems for the doctors, as well as the applicants, who often are dependent on the grant for survival. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that influence doctors in the assessment of applicants for a disability grant.

Methods: A qualitative study using free attitude interviews was conducted amongst doctors involved in the assessment process in Limpopo province. Content analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews.

Results: The assessment process was not entirely objective and was influenced by subjective factors. These included the mood of the doctors, emotions such as anger and sympathy, and feelings of desperation. Perceptions by the doctors regarding abuse of the system, abuse of the grant, the inappropriateness of the task, lack of clear guidelines and the usefulness of the committees were important in decision making. The doctors’ personal life experiences were a major determinant of the outcome of the application.

Conclusion: The assessment of applicants for a disability grant is a subjective and emotional task. There is need for policy makers to appreciate the difficulties inherent in the current medicalised process. Demedicalisation of certain aspects of disability assessment and other social needs that doctors do not view as a purely clinical functions is necessary. In addition, there is a need for clear, uniform policy on and guidelines for the management of the grant, the role of the doctor has to be defined, healthcare practitioners must be trained in disability assessment, institutional committees should be established and intersectoral initiatives should be encouraged to address issues of poverty and dependence.

People with dementia have been assumed to possess weak or even no agency, so this paper provides a novel contribution to academic debate by examining their actual potential for agency. The author draws on findings from a qualitative study of everyday decision-making by people with dementia that aimed to iden- tify the role of social factors (such as gender) in influencing their involvement in decisions. Whilst decision-making constitutes a form of deliberative agency, the research also identified when agency was alternatively habituated, embodied or emotional. The Economic and Social Research Council-funded research was undertaken in the North of England. Existing theoretical perspectives on agency are critiqued, particularly in relation to rationality, language and individualised agency. The study highlighted that people with dementia who lack deliberative capacity can nonetheless demonstrate creative capacity for agency. A more expansive concept of agency is needed in social science theory that is informed by the experiences of cognitively disabled people.

Purpose: This paper seeks to contribute to discussion on the understanding and measurement of empowerment of people with disabilities in developing countries. A novel, text analysis approach was used to depict the way in which empowerment is characterised in conventional measures in Western settings. This was then compared with depictions and analyses of the way in which empowerment is characterised in documents that have more relevance to developing countries.

Method: First, computer-based content and concept analysis was applied to three key empowerment measures. This was compared with analysis of responses to a recent online survey of empowerment conducted by the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). Visual representations in the form of “word clouds” were generated to depict key concepts within each data source. Second, to provide specific detail regarding how empowerment has been described in documents which relate to developing countries, more detailed computer-assisted lexical analysis was performed on the text of responses to the UN-DESA survey, and on the text of the Empowerment component of the CBR Guidelines.

Results: Initial “word clouds” illustrated considerable discrepancy between concepts inherent in the three most relevant empowerment measures when compared with responses to the UN-DESA survey relating to empowerment in a development context. Subsequent lexical analysis depicted greater specificity and ranked the concepts associated with empowerment in key disability and development-related documents.

Conclusions: Conventional Western measures of individual empowerment may not adequately encompass the broader social, economic and community orientation of empowerment as described in documents from disability and development circles. Further research is required to substantiate these novel and speculative indications.

Purpose: This study aimed to provide insights into factors that influence the acquisition, accessibility, and utilisation of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information and services by deaf people who communicate using Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL).

Method: The study explored deaf people’s perceptions about barriers to SRH information and services in Ghana. There were 26 participants in 3 focus groups: 10 executives of Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), 7 deaf adult males and 9 deaf adult females. A key informant, who had experience in working with deaf people, was also interviewed. Review of documents and observations helped to clarify data gathered from the focus groups.

Results: Study findings indicated that when accessing SRH information and services in Ghana, deaf people encounter numerous barriers such as problems with communication, ignorance about deafness, negative attitudes, and services that are not customised to their needs.

Conclusion: If it is to succeed, any SRH programme for the deaf community must make the eradication of communication barriers a priority, since communication is fundamental to all challenges that deaf people encounter.