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Nigerian Realities: Can we ignore Traditional Leadership in developing successful CBR?

VERMEER, Bertine
CORNIELJE, Marije T
CORNIELJE, Huib
POST, Erik B
IDAH, Mike A
2015

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Purpose: To study the role of traditional leaders (Sarakuna) who provide a form of social welfare for persons with disabilities in the Hausa society of Northern Nigeria. From the results of this study, lessons are derived for cooperation with Sarakuna in (emerging) Community Based Rehabilitation programmes.

 

Methods: A literature study was done using different (non-)electronic sources. In addition, 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders (e.g., non-governmental organisations, disabled people’s organisations), and 8 focus group discussions were held with (leaders of) persons with a disability. Question-led analysis was utilised by considering 4 dimensions: rehabilitation outcomes, rehabilitation services, involvement of beneficiaries, and social acceptability.

 

Results: Not much literature is available on the role of traditional leadership in rehabilitation programmes and social welfare. Nevertheless, this study found indications that traditional leadership is still present in contemporary NorthernNigeria. Some Sarakuna improve the socio-economic position of persons with disabilities by functioning as mediators and by their ability to provide social insurance. Their cooperation with multiple stakeholders enables them to distribute food and clothes. Also, since they possess essential information, NGOs are helped to access the community of persons with disabilities. Sarakuna are in a position to promote the inclusion and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, but often lack necessary skills and training; yet, Community Based Rehabilitation programmes often ignore them.

 

Conclusions and Implications: Community Based Rehabilitation programmes should take better note of social contexts and therefore should also work in the specific context of traditional leadership. In this way, rehabilitation programmes are more likely to meet the expectations of persons with disability.

Knowledge and Beliefs about Ear and Hearing Health among Mothers of Young Children in a Rural Community in South India

NARAYANSAMY, M
RAMKUMA, V
NAGARAJAN, R
2014

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Purpose: To study the knowledge and beliefs about ear and hearing healthcare among mothers from a rural community.

 

Method: In 1 week, 6 focus group discussions were conducted across 6 villages of a district in Tamil Nadu in southern India. The participants were 60 mothers who had children below 5 years of age.

 

Results: Mothers in this rural community had information about some aspects of ear and hearing healthcare. They were aware that use of hairpins and safety- pins to clean ears was harmful; they were knowledgeable about ways to identify hearing ability (child responds to name call, verbal instructions, and startles at loud sounds); and, conditions like consanguinity and malnutrition of expectant mothers were recognised as risk factors for hearing loss. However, misconceptions also existed. The practice of pouring herbal juices to remove insects in the ear continued; there was the perception that all children with a hearing problem were “deaf”, and a lack of awareness about the possibility of partial/unilateral hearing loss. Regarding the age of identification, mothers believed that a child’s ability to speak and the ability to hear was pertinent to assess hearing. None of the mothers related normal speech development to normal hearing.

 

Conclusion: For the success of a community-based hearing screening programme, it is important to utilise the existing knowledge of the mothers, and simultaneously attempt to fill in gaps in knowledge and clarify misconceptions. These measures will facilitate greater compliance from the community in achieving the goals of early identification and early intervention for problems of hearing loss.

Knowledge of, beliefs about and attitudes to disability: implications for health professionals

MASASA, T
IRWIN-CARRUTHERS, S
FAURE, M
2014

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Background: South Africa is a multicultural, multiracial and multilingual nation with many different values, traditions and cultural practices. Different belief systems may give rise to different attitudes and practices relating to disability, which may impact on rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs relating to disability in three broad cultural groups in the Western Cape.

 

Method: Sixty primary caregivers were interviewed by using a knowledge, attitude and belief (KAB) survey in a structured interview format. Probability and non-probability (systematic and purposive) sampling were used. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods.

 

Results: While caregivers from coloured and white communities generally had become acquainted with disability from an early age, caregivers in black communities often only learnt about disability following the birth of a disabled child. All caregivers had only a rather rudimentary knowledge of the causes of disability, but held positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and their integration into society. The qualitative data showed some differences in beliefs between the three groups in relation to the causes of disability and the need for rehabilitation. The data also revealed negative experiences across the groups in relation to education and the availability of transport, particularly amongst caregivers from black and coloured communities.

 

Conclusions: Health professionals need to understand the culture, values, beliefs and expectations of their clients when providing rehabilitation services within a community-based model. There appears to be a need for improved disability awareness in schools and amongst transport service providers.

Challenging perceptions of disability through performance poetry methods: the ‘Seen but Seldom Heard’ project

HODGES, Caroline E M
FENGE, Lee-Ann
CUTTS, Wendy
2014

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This paper considers performance poetry as a method to explore lived experiences of disability. We discuss how poetic inquiry used within a participatory arts-based research framework can enable young people to collectively question society’s attitudes and actions towards disability. Poetry will be considered as a means to develop a more accessible and effective arena in which young people with direct experience of disability can be empowered to develop new skills that enable them to tell their own stories. Discussion of how this can challenge audiences to critically reflect upon their own perceptions of disability will also be developed.

Social Skills Training of Children with Learning Disability

BHAN, S
FAROOQUI, Z
2013

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Purpose: The ability to recognise emotions in oneself and in others is a fundamental prerequisite to function successfully in the social world. Emotion recognition deficit in people with learning disability may therefore be an important contributory factor to deficits in social skills and poor social adaptation. This study aimed to examine the level of emotional understanding in students with learning disabilities (LD).

 

Method: A pre-test, post-test equivalent groups design was adopted for this study. The focus was on identification of emotions through verbal and pictorial situations, and the appropriate expression of emotions. Training was provided to enhance the emotional understanding of students through the use of ‘I C ME’ module. The 6 emotions addressed in this study were anger, excitement, embarrassment, jealousy, love and anxiety. 30 children with LD, in the age group of 9-12 years, were selected for the study.

 

Results: It was seen that while children with LD had difficulty in the identification of an emotion, they found it more difficult to express the emotion in a socially appropriate way. The post-test results indicated that the training provided to the students significantly improved their emotional understanding.

 

Conclusions: The students learnt about the 6 emotions (anger, excitement, embarrassment, love, jealousy, and anxiety), the vocabulary associated with these emotions, and also the appropriate way to express, self-monitor and self-regulate each emotion.

 

Limitations: Intervention was done for only 6 emotions

Children with learning disabilities: A phenomenological study of the lived experiences of Iranian mothers

KERMANSHAHI, S M
VANAKI, Z
AHMADI, F
KAZEMNEJAD, A
AZADFALAH, P
2009

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Nursing as a family-oriented profession involves supporting mothers of children with learning disabilities to gain an awareness of their role. However, few studies have explored the whole experience of such mothers. This study embarks on an understanding of lived experiences of Iranian mothers who have children with learning disabilities. A qualitative approach was adopted using the phenomenology of semi-structured interviews carried out with six Iranian mothers whose children attended a special school in Tehran. The data were analysed in line with van Manen’s suggestions. Two main themes were abstracted; being the centre of stress circles and being in the midst of life and death. Themes include care management challenges for self and child, experiencing through helplessness and hopefulness and experiencing self devote and self neglect. Overall, a majority of mothers experienced a stressful life. The study concludes that Iranian mothers’ lived experience of having children with learning disabilities can be likened to the constant swing of a pendulum between two polarities of positive and negative feelings. This knowledge can provide an heuristic to help health staff guide mothers in adjusting to their children who have learning disabilities.

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