Dimensions of invisibility: insights into the daily realities of persons with disabilities living in rural communities in India
2020
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5 records. Displaying 1 to 5 of 5.
The experiences of parents of children living with disabilities at Lehlaba Protective Workshop in Sekhukhune district of Limpopo province
TIGERE, Brian
MAKHUBELE, Jabulani C.
September 2019
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Background: Parents of children with disabilities have faced difficulties in looking after their children, be it socially, economically and financially. Parents in rural areas are mainly left with a huge burden, as there is a lack of services and support from both the state and non-governmental organisations. Parents in Sekhukhune district, a rural area in Limpopo province of South Africa, face challenges in raising their disabled children related to lack of resources and lack of services at their disposal.
Objectives: This study focuses on the experiences and life circumstances faced by parents of children living with different types of disabilities at Lehlaba Protective Workshop in Sekhukhune district of Limpopo province, South Africa.
Method: The study consisted of 14 participants who are parents of children living with disabilities. An interview guide with a set of questions was utilised to gather data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and themes that emerged were grouped together.
Results: Themes that emerged from the data showed that most of the participants had varying understandings on the causes of disabilities to their children. The participants also were of the view that a ‘cure’ for disability was available medically, spiritually or through traditional African medicine. The study also brought the notion of absent fathers, as most men do not want to be associated with children who are disabled. Stigmatisation of the parents was also a theme that the study revealed. The parents are subjected to name labelling as they are viewed to be practising witchcraft or to be paying for their sins they committed.
Conclusion: Parents of children with disabilities are in their own battle in raising their children. There is a lack of support structures available for parents of children living with disabilities. There is a lack of legislation available for protecting and promoting the rights of children with disabilities. The researchers concluded that raising a child with a disability is expensive, time-consuming and straining.
African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019
Community stakeholders’ perspectives on the role of occupational therapy in primary healthcare: Implications for practice
NAIDOO, Deshini
Van WYK, Jacqueline
JOUBER, Robin
2017
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Background: Primary healthcare (PHC) is central to increased access and transformation in South African healthcare. There is limited literature about services required by occupational therapists in PHC. Despite policy being in place, the implementation of services at grassroots level does not always occur adequately.
Objectives: This study aimed at gaining an understanding of the challenges of being disabled and the services required by occupational therapists (OTs) in rural communities in order to better inform the occupational therapy (OT) training curriculum.
Method: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative design was implemented using purposive sampling to recruit 23 community healthcare workers from the uGu district. Snowball sampling was used to recruit 37 members of the uGu community, which included people with disability (PWD) and caregivers of PWDs. Audio-recorded focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, which were thematically analysed. Ethical approval was obtained from the Biomedical and Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (BE248/14).
Results: Two main themes emerged namely: firstly, the challenges faced by the disabled community and secondly appropriate opportunities for intervention in PHC. A snapshot of the social and physical inaccessibility challenges experienced by the community was created. Challenges included physical and sexual abuse, discrimination and marginalisation. Community-based rehabilitation and ideas for health promotion and prevention were identified as possible strategies for OT intervention.
Conclusion: The understanding of the intervention required by OT in PHC was enhanced through obtaining the views of various stakeholders’ on the role. This study highlighted the gaps in community-based services that OTs should offer in this context.
Assessment of Rehabilitation Capacity in Ghana
Christian, Asare
et al
2016
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Purpose: This study describes a cross-sectional assessment of infrastructure, human resources, and types of rehabilitation interventions provided in a sample of healthcare facilities in Ghana. The objectives were to (a) develop and pilot a questionnaire assessing rehabilitation capacity in LMICs, and (b) provide initial data regarding available rehabilitation care in rural Ghana.
Methods: Data was collected from a sample of rehabilitation workers at 9 facilities, comprised of 5 regional and 4 district hospitals, located in seven of the ten geographical regions of Ghana. Participants completed a modified version of the World Health Organisation's Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care, adapted to reflect core indicators of rehabilitation infrastructure. Participating facilities were mailed questionnaires and agreed to subsequent site visits from the first author.
Results: There were several limitations associated with basic rehabilitation infrastructure. Consistent with previous research, significant human resources limitations were observed as hospital-based rehabilitation services were primarily rendered by 20 physiotherapists and 21 physiotherapy assistants across the 9 participating sites. No rehabilitation physicians were identified at any of the surveyed facilities. With regard to therapeutic interventions, management of musculoskeletal impairments was generally consistent with current evidence- based practices, whereas rehabilitative approaches for neurologic conditions were limited to physical rather than sensory-motor modalities.
Conclusions: For the first time there is study data which details the rehabilitation infrastructure, human resources, and interventions in Ghana. This study furthers the field through the adaptation and initial piloting of a rehabilitation assessment instrument that can be used in LMIC contexts.
Limitations: The questionnaire used for the study was modified from the questionnaire for assessing surgical care in resource poor countries, and has not yet been validated. Since the study was conducted in a convenience sample of rehabilitation/physiotherapy centres in Ghana, generalisability may be limited.
Accessing community health services: challenges faced by poor people with disabilities in a rural community in South Africa
GRUT, Lisbet
MJI, Gubela
BRAATHEN, Stine H
INGSTAD, Benedicte
2012
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Poor people with disabilities who live in poor rural societies experience unique problems in accessing health services. Their situation is influenced by multiple factors which unfold and interplay throughout the person’s life course. The difficulties do not only affect the person with a disability and his or her family, but also impact on the relevant care unit. The barriers are rooted in a life in poverty, upheld and maintained by poverty-reinforcing social forces of the past and the present, and reinforced by the lack of the person’s perspective of the health services. This article explores how difficulties may interact and influence access to and utilisation of health services, and how this may render health services out of reach even when they are available. The study reveals that non-compliance is not necessarily about neglect but could as well be a matter of lived poverty. The study was based on in-depth interviews with people with disabilities and family members, and semi-structured interviews with health personnel. The data analysis is contextual and interpretive. When offering health services to people with disabilities living in resource-poor settings, services should take into consideration the person’s history, the needs, and the resources and abilities of the family group. Rethinking access to health services should transcend a narrow medical institutionalization of health professional’s training, and include a patient’s perspective and a social vision in understanding and practice. Such rethinking requires health service models that integrate the skills of health professionals with the skills of disabled people and their family members. Such skills lie dormant at community level, and need to be recognized and utilized.
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