Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.
A discussion concerning disability dongles (expensive technical solutions to disability problems without sufficient design input from disabled people - examples include a stair climbing wheelchair and an exoskeleton). Setting up networks of disabled people to input requirements, contextualisation of issues (for example the lack of repair facilities for wheelchairs especially in the global south), telemedicine, and the difficulties in appropriate funding for appropriate projects are discussed.
Humanitarian actors recognize the lack of standard practice on the inclusion of older people and people with disabilities in humanitarian response as a current and critical gap in the sector. In recent years, the humanitarian sector has begun to more intentionally address these challenges. In response, the IRC has developed this Inclusive Client Responsiveness Guidance, which aims to address gaps in the IRC’s Client Responsive Programming specifically to strengthen inclusion of people with disabilities and older people. The Guidance consists of three sections to support staff in strengthening inclusion of people with disabilities and older people using the IRC’s Client Responsiveness approach:
Key concepts for designing inclusive feedback mechanisms such as accessibility and reasonable accommodation, to ensure that barriers are addressed, and feedback mechanisms are designed to be accessible to all.
Selection and design of inclusive feedback mechanisms that foster diversity and inclusion.
Monitoring access to feedback mechanisms of people with disabilities and older people through appropriate data collection and analysis.
The guidance also includes a set of resources for practical implementation, which are referenced throughout the document
This paper seeks to heighten awareness about the need to include indigenous knowledge in the design and implementation of research, particularly disability research, in Africa. It affirms the suitability of the Afrocentric paradigm in African research and argues the necessity for an emancipatory and participatory type of research which values and includes indigenous knowledge and peoples. In the predominantly Western-oriented academic circles and investigations, the African voice is either sidelined or suppressed because indigenous knowledge and methods are often ignored or not taken seriously. This paper posits that to be meaningful and empowering, African-based research must, of necessity, include African thought and ideas from inception through completion to the implementation of policies arising from the research. In this way the work is both empowering and meaningful for context-specific lasting impact.
"The main goal of the research was to understand and measure the overall role and impact of CBR in improving the quality of life of persons with different types of impairments, as well as different demographic, social and economic backgrounds. We therefore investigated the effectiveness of CBR programmes in improving the control that persons with disabilities have over their daily lives, their participation in different aspects of community life (i.e. combating stigma and prejudice) and their access to various services over the five domains of the CBR matrix (health, education, livelihood, social and empowerment)"
This is a report of a study, carried out in Nepal, India and Brazil, to develop a scale to measure (social) participation for use in rehabilitation, stigma reduction and social integration programmes. The report concludes that the Participation Scale is reliable and valid to measure client-perceived participation in people affected by leprosy or disability
'Empowered to differ' equally addresses researchers and CBR professionals. The book gives an overview about the developments in the field of community-based rehabilitation since 1978, using the examples of CBR projects in Southern Africa. Finkenflügel asks for the knowledge and the evidence for CBR and to what extent the roles, interests and powers of stakeholders can contribute to this knowledge and evidence
Can people remain healthy in a world that is sick? Many ecological disasters can be directly traced to careless exploitation of the environment, with human beings as first perpetrator and then victim. Our health closely mirrors the health of our surroundings: this is the basis of the Ecohealth approach. It recognizes the links between humans and their biophysical, social, and economic environments, and that these links are reflected in the population's state of health. This is a new area of research, requiring input from scientists, community and interest groups, and decision-makers. This book describes this new approach, providing lessons and recommendations from various IDRC-supported research activities. It demonstrates how decision-makers, in particular, can use the ecohealth approach to formulate policies and solutions that are both immediately visible and sustainable over the long term
This book is about participatory information gathering in the process of research, monitoring and evaluation with children and young people. It describes participatory methods of information gathering with children, including drawing, role play, photography and video-making. It also guides teachers, project planners and practitioners towards other sources of information
