Resources search

This resource provides a manual and related scale to measure (social) participation for use in rehabilitation, stigma reduction and social integration programmes
Note: Contact the author or ILEP for further information

Despite the seriousness of the HIV epidemic globally, and in South Africa in particular, little is known about how HIV/AIDS affects disabled people. One important and little explored area is the role that organisations that represent disabled people or that work on behalf of disabled people, are playing in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic among the disabled people they represent or serve. This paper presents the findings of a nationwide survey of disability organisations in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of disability organisations in addressing the HIV epidemic among disabled people in South Africa. The findings suggest that while organisations recognise the importance of providing HIV education, and many have taken steps to do so, disabled people are largely excluded from general HIV prevention messages. Disabled people also have significant difficulties in accessing general health care, relevant for HIV testing and treatment. In a country trying to manage serious social problems with limited resources, this paper highlights the need for increased cooperation and collaboration between relevant parties in order to facilitate the changes necessary for disabled people to access needed health information and care.

This paper puts forward an argument in favour of careful and critical analysis of culture in formulating communication strategies with and for specific groups, based on experience drawn from the Clown Project in Guatemala and other countries in Central America. The Clown Project uses labour-intensive face-to-face street theatre and dialogue, participatory workshops, and symbolic communication such as print-based material to reach those most vulnerable to the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS . The analysis takes into account relations of power within and between vulnerable groups, examining the centre-periphery dynamic between classes, genders, ethnicities, age groups, and other social identities. Both appropriately supported insider perspectives and appropriately processed outsider knowledge are recommended, along with ways of bridging science and the field, theory and practice

"The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the life of individuals with a disability in the Maasai Tribe in Tanzania. The study consisted of 68 participants. Individuals with a disability did not engage in tribal traditions, go to school or seek modern health care"
Review of Disability Studies : An International Journal, Vol 5, Issue 4

"In a representational democracy, the process of selecting people to represent the electorate is critical. To accomplish this goal, it is crucial that elections be fair and accurate reflections of the decisions of the voters. However, a significant and relatively unacknowledged constituency, people with disabilities, faces a variety of barriers to full participation in the U.S. electoral democracy. Recent research has provided evidence that how people with disabilities vote is just as important as the physical barriers they face when casting their votes. This article presents an overview of the literature addressing issues that affect how people with disabilities vote, with an especial focus on the role of election officials as both facilitators and inhibitors of voting by people with disabilities"
Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Vol 20, No 2

"In 2005, Handicap International commissioned a study on the practices of funding for self-employment activities of people with disabilities (PWD), with a special focus on access to microfinance. The overall goal of the study was to produce a framework document highlighting good practices, strategies, tools and operational methods that guarantee the efficiency and sustainability of self-employment projects for PWDs. The first phase of the study consisted of a literature review and a worldwide survey. Through this first phase the research team identified the most innovative programmes for further analysis through field visits. In the second phase field visits were conducted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Uganda, while regional workshops were organised in Dhaka and Nairobi. Phase three involved consolidation and analysis of the information and finally drafting of the framework document. This paper summarises the findings and good practices as presented in the framework document, based on the results of the literature review, the survey and the field research. It is not a scientific paper, i.e. it doesn't contain a discussion of the literature reviewed or systematic reference to sources, the same as the document on which it is based, as it is primarily meant for practitioners"
Leprosy Review, Vol 79, Issue 1

"Research on women with disabilities has found that the most common perpetrators of violence were current or former intimate partners. This article examines intimate partner sexual and physical abuse experienced by women with disabilities compared to women without disabilities and men with and without disabilities through chi square analysis and regression analysis using data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Results show that women with disabilities experienced almost twice the rate of all forms of abuse compared to the other populations. Variables increasing the likelihood of abuse include being female, disabled, not employed, uncoupled and younger age. Implications for future research, screening and intervention for rehabilitation professionals are discussed"
Sexuality and Disability, Vol. 26, Issue 1

This article examines the use of Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), an indicator for assessing the relative effects of public health interventions, by comparing the underlying concepts to WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). It concludes by stating "the main difficulty with DALYs is that they do not value interventions that enhance the lives of people with disabilities. To do so, they must draw on the social model of disability to look at how the environment interacts with functional status"
The Lancet, Vol 369

This article presents the results of a four week e-discussion designed and hosted by the World Bank to explore ideas and gain information on young people and employment. The aim of the discussion was to get input from people whose opinions are seldom represented in academics. The article explores the main topics of the discussion, which included society’s perception of disability, education, government policies and the role of intermediaries, and present conclusions. This article is useful for anyone working with disabled youth or people generally interested in disabled youth and employment
Disability & Society
Vol 21, No 6