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Inclusive design and accessibility of the built environment in Freetown - an Inclusive Infrastructure Case Study from Sierra Leone

PATRICK, Michaela
MULDOWNEY, A
TURAY, A
KOROMA, B
McKINNON, I
October 2023

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Showcasing findings and recommendations for infrastructure, the built environment and urban development in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the case study provides actions towards creating a more accessible and inclusive city. Building a picture of the current state of inclusive design and accessibility of the built environment, the report sets out the potential for inclusive design to address existing barriers to inclusion for persons with disabilities.  

 

Research conducted in Sierra Leone included interviews, co-design workshops and photo diaries, with 15 stakeholders and 20 persons with disabilities living and working in the city.

 

Inclusive Infrastructure is a sub-programme of UK aid funded AT2030, testing ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing Assistive Technology (AT) for all. The research demonstrates how access to AT is dependent on an enabling and inclusively designed built environment. The Sierra Leone case study is the fifth of six that help build a global picture of the current state of inclusion and accessibility in our cities through engaging local stakeholders and communities. 

 

Evolution of inclusive design

MacKINNON, Iain
PATRICK, Michaela
September 2023

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A short talk given in the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023

 

A short account of the development of the knowledge around inclusive design starting with the London Olympic and Paralympic 2020 Games in East London and the growth of that knowledge with the growth of the GDI hub.

The intersectionality of inclusive design and effects of climate change are explored. The importance of inclusive design in future building in cities is emphasised.

Can para-sport drive community-level change in Sub Saharan Africa

WONG, Jennifer
MAGALASI, Mufunanji
NKHOMA, Samuel Nakhozwe
MOGALO, Sheila
September 2023

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Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

Short presentations and a discussion are reported concerning the transformational change associated with para-sport in Sub Saharan Africa, highlighting Sport for Development, Para Sport against Stigma and I'mPOSSIBLE. 

Commentary of the highlights of the Tokyo Paralympic games were translated into the Malawian local language and were shown in mobile cinemas. Theatre for development produced provocative performances with communities re sports and stigma. The importance of a Paralympic sportsman visiting schools as a role model is highlighted. The journey of Malawi from having no paralympic athletes in London to today is outlined, highlighting the transformational growth in the ecosystem of educators, supporters, trainers, coaches and national technical officials. The importance of para-sport in reducing stigma is emphasised.  

WHO disability-inclusive health services training package: a companion to the Disability-inclusive health services toolkit. A resource for health facilities in the Western Pacific Region

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) WESTERN PACIFIC
June 2023

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The WHO Disability-Inclusive Health Services Training Package is a companion to the “WHO Disability-Inclusive Health Services Toolkit: A resource for health facilities in the Western Pacific Region” published by WHO in 2020. This package offers a range of additional training materials including presentations, workbooks and videos that will allow users to develop the foundational skills and understanding of the Toolkit for its implementation. Together the Toolkit and Training Package will help ensure equitable access to health services, best-quality outcomes and improved quality of life for all people with disabilities to achieve universal health coverage.

"We bear it and accept our fate” Perceptions of healthcare access from people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar

PANELLA, Amanda
June 2022

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In November and December 2021, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) and the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Needs and Population Monitoring unit (NPM) conducted qualitative interviews with persons with mobility and vision impairments from Rohingya refugee and host community populations with the aim of better informing and supporting agencies in developing disability-inclusive programmes and engagement activities. These interviews focused on access to health services, aiming to gain insight into how people with disabilities experience engaging with healthcare services – as well as perceived barriers to access. It also looked at health information needs so that the humanitarian community will be better equipped to identify gaps in programming, deliver more equitable services, and build trust with this marginalised group. To weave tangible experiences into the narrative and bring findings to life, this research took a ‘user journey’ approach to create a set of ‘personas’ derived from key informant interviews with Rohingya and Host Community people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar, resulting in this highly illustrative report.

Inclusive Design and Accessibility of the Built Environment in Solo, Indonesia

PATRICK, Michaela
McKINNON, Iain
PUTRI PRASTIKA, Kirana
ASTERINA, Nina
FUAD, Jamil
March 2022

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This case study builds a picture of the current state of inclusion and accessibility in the built environment and infrastructure in Solo, Indonesia, through engaging local stakeholders and communities and exploring the understanding of and potential for inclusive design to address some of the current barriers to inclusion.

Surakarta (known as Solo) is a city in Central Java, Indonesia, with a population of 557,606 people. The city has a strong history of inclusion, recognised as a great place for persons with disabilities in Indonesia to live. Solo city is a leader for inclusion in Indonesia, demonstrated through city regulations on disability inclusion that pre-date the ratification of the UNCRPD. There is great progress in implementing inclusive environments in Solo with numerous accessible infrastructures, but the city would benefit from a more holistic approach, support by a robust inclusive design strategy that integrates inclusion, sustainable and resilience to ensure long-term progress. One of the aspects that makes Solo unique is its strong community relationships, community-led approaches and leadership from the community is active and valued. This is also supported within urban governance, facilitating opportunities from grassroots leadership and inclusive participation for persons with disabilities.

The research identified that to create more inclusive environments, the physical infrastructure, planning and design is crucial, but equally important are the processes of inclusion and participation. Creating robust mechanisms of community participation and leadership is fundamental to ensure long term sustainable and continued progress to being a more inclusive city.

Across Indonesia, action towards inclusive cities is supported through the work of the Inclusive Mayor’s Network in Indonesia demonstrating country-wide leadership. The findings of this case study will serve Solo as a city but also have relevance for other cities across Indonesia and support the implementation of best practices found in Solo. 

This is the third of six case studies of the Inclusive Infrastructure programme analysing the state of accessibility and inclusive design in low-resource contexts around the world. 

How can we overcome barriers to accessing rehabilitation for persons with disabilities in LMIC? - Evidence brief

MACTAGGART, Islay
April 2021

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Rehabilitation is described as a set of measures to optimise the functioning of individuals, and is important for wellbeing, participation and quality of life. Rehabilitation includes diagnosis, treatments, surgeries, assistive devices and therapies. Not all people who need rehabilitation are people with disabilities, and not all people with disabilities need rehabilitation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently estimated that 1 in 3 people globally (2.41 billion people) would benefit from rehabilitation: this number has increased nearly two thirds since 1990, due to population growth and increase in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). In contrast, there are estimated to be less than 10 skilled rehabilitation practitioners per million population in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), and only 5 – 15% of people in need of assistive devices are thought to have received them.

 

Evidence is reviewed and recommendations provided

Family Planning for Women and Girls with Disabilities

Dr FRASER, Erika
CORBY, Nick
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
2021

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This is an updated evidence review looking at the evidence on factors affecting access to and uptake of family planning for women and girls with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries and the evidence on good practice on increasing full free and informed contraceptive choice for women and girls with disabilities.

 

Query:

1) What is the evidence on factors affecting access to and uptake of family planning for women and girls with disabilities in low and middle income countries, highlighting examples from FP2020 commitment-making countries?

2) What is the evidence on good practice on increasing full free and informed contraceptive choice for women and girls with disabilities – from the same countries or elsewhere? 

Background: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people including those with disabilities is a major public health concern globally. However, available evidence on their use of sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) is inconsistent.Object

KUMI-KYEREME, Akwasi
2021

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Background:Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people including those with disabilities is a major public health concern globally. However, available evidence on their use of sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) is inconsistent.


Objective:This study investigated utilisation of SRHS amongst the in-school young people with disabilities (YPWDs) in Ghana using the healthcare utilisation model.


Methods: Guided by the cross-sectional study design, a questionnaire was used to obtain data from 2114 blind and deaf pupils or students in the age group 10-24 years, sampled from 15 purposively selected special schools for the deaf and the blind in Ghana.


Results: About seven out of every 10 respondents had ever utilised SRHS. The proportion was higher amongst the males (67.8%) compared with the females (62.8%). Young persons with disabilities in the coastal (OR = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.01–0.22) and middle (OR = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.01–0.44) zones were less likely to have ever utilised SRHS compared with those in the northern ecological zone. The blind pupils or students were more likely to have ever utilised SRHS than the deaf (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.26–3.11).


Conclusions: Generally, SRHS utilisation amongst the in-school YPWDs in Ghana is high but significantly associated with some predisposing, need and enabling or disabling factors. This underscores the need for policymakers to consider in-school YPWDs as a heterogeneous group in the design and implementation of SRHS programmes. The Ghana Education Service in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service should adopt appropriate pragmatic measures and targeted interventions in the special schools to address the SRH needs of the pupils or students.

Accessible construction toolkit

INSTITUTE OF MIGRATION (IOM) IRAQ
March 2021

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In October 2020, IOM Iraq commissioned the development of an accessibility toolkit for IOM Iraq built structures. This toolkit follows the Iraq “Building requirement code for people with special needs” on construction and accessibility and is a companion to the RRU Construction Manual: Best practices in construction and rehabilitation of community infrastructure. The RRU construction team constructs a variety of buildings including schools, health facilities and community centers. This toolkit is a resource to enable a strengthened approach to accessibility of future structures, and to enable a diverse range of community members to benefit from IOM Iraq’s construction and programming

Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM) IRAQ
March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

Impact of Visual Impairment and Correction on Vision-Related Quality of Life: Comparing People with Different Levels of Visual Acuity in Indonesia

WIDAGDO, T M M
RAPPUN, Y
GANDRUNG, A V
WIBOWO, E
2021

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Purpose: This study assessed the extent to which visual impairment impacts on vision-related quality of life in Indonesia, by comparing four groups of people: those with 1) normal vision, 2) corrected visual impairment, 3) uncorrected visual impairment, and 4) blindness.

 

Method: Purposive sampling was used. There were 162 respondents, between 21 and 86 years of age. Participants with normal vision and blindness were community-dwellers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Those with corrected and uncorrected visual impairment were recruited from an eye clinic. This cross- sectional study used NEI VFQ-25 to assess vision-related quality of life. The total scores and 11 NEI VFQ-25 subscales scores of four respondent groups were analysed using ANOVA, followed by post-hoc analyses to reveal between group differences.

 

Results: There was a significant difference in the NEI VFQ-25 total scores among the four respondent groups. Respondents with normal vision had the highest score and those with blindness had the lowest. There were also significant differences among the four groups for the 11 subscales. Post-hoc analyses revealed no significant difference between respondents with normal vision and corrected visual impairment in the total and 9 NEI VFQ-25 subscales. Respondents with uncorrected visual impairment and blindness had significantly lower vision- related quality of life compared to those with normal vision or corrected visual impairment in the total and 5 NEI VFQ-25 subscales, indicating that visual impairment decreases vision-related quality of life.

 

Conclusion: Visual impairment has a detrimental impact on a person’s vision- related quality of life. The negative impact of visual impairment can be minimised by correction. Failure to correct visual impairment leads to significantly lowervision-related quality of life.

Employers' Attitudes and Hiring Intentions towards Persons with Disabilities in Hotels

PIRAMANAYAGAM, S
SEAL, P P
2021

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Purpose: The hospitality industry is labour intensive. Currently, in India, hotels have a high employee attrition rate. This study aimed to explore the attitudes of hotel managers towards recruiting persons with disabilities as employees, a move which could benefit all concerned.

 

Method: A structured survey instrument was sent to 31 employers in star category hotels.

 

Results: Employers’ attitudes have a significant influence on the recruitment of persons with disabilities. While the intention to hire persons with disabilities is positively associated with quality of work, loyalty, and dependability, it can also be negatively associated with lack of skill, work experience, poor time management and absenteeism.

 

Conclusion: It is concluded that employers hire person with disabilities to work in hotels as they are more reliable and loyal towards the organisation. This attitude from the side of employees with disabilities will also help to overcome the problem of high employee attrition that has a deleterious effect on profitability in the service industry.

 

Limitation: The data is collected from hotels in a single city, which may limit the generalisation of the findings.

Impact of Covid-19 on people with disabilities in Albania

LAHE, Alma
SHEHU, Arlinda
January 2021

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This report aims to assess the level of access that People with Disabilities have to services and institutions during the pandemic period, as well as to analyze their economic and financial needs to cope with the consequences of the crisis caused by COVID-19.

The survey was conducted in the form of a quantitative field survey. 360 individuals participated in the survey: 199, or 55.3%, of the participants were people with disabilities (PWDs) while the remaining 161 persons, or 44.7%, were guardians or parents of a person with disabilities. The survey was conducted in all 6 districts of the country. The questionnaire was designed to gather information on the perceptions, attitudes, behaviors and experiences of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 period.

Insisting on inclusion: Institutionalisation and barriers to education for children with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan

MILLS, Laura
December 2020

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Since 2012, the Kyrgyz government has pledged to close 17 residential institutions for children, including three for children with disabilities. But 3,000 children with disabilities remain in institutions.

This report is based on in-person visits to six institutions for children with disabilities and 111 interviews with children with disabilities, their parents, institution staff, and experts in four regions of Kyrgyzstan. It describes abuses in state care as well as barriers to education that often lead to a child’s segregation in a residential institution or special school, or their isolation at home.

 

 

User Satisfaction with Conventional Lower-Limb Orthotic Devices: a Cross-Sectional Survey in Pakistan

Aftab, Zohaib
Zaidi, Zohaib Ahmed
Shafi, Faraz
2020

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Purpose: Persons with disabilities affecting lower-limb function use ankle- foot-orthoses (AFO) and knee-ankle-foot-orthoses (KAFO) on a regular basis. However, the effectiveness of these devices in daily use is seldom evaluated, especially in the developing world. This study aimed to evaluate user satisfaction with lower-limb orthotic devices while performing a broad spectrum of daily life activities in Pakistan, and to document the desired outcomes.

 

Method: A survey was conducted among orthotic device users in the out-patient departments of three hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. The survey questionnaire was devised by adapting the Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire to suit orthotics evaluation. Fifty-four AFO and KAFO users participated in the study.

 

Results: Most users felt comfortable while walking on even surfaces with their orthoses. However, donning/doffing these, climbing stairs and performing certain routine activities were considered problematic for most people. Energy conservation was the most desired AFO feature, while the KAFO users wanted automatic knee-joint function.

 

Conclusion and Implications: Overall satisfaction with the existing lower- limb orthoses is adequate. Yet, significant improvements are needed in terms of energy efficiency and comfort while walking on different terrains. Further research is required in order to improve the functioning of the existing orthotic devices.

People with Physical Disabilities playing Light Volleyball: A Qualitative Study in Hong Kong

Leung, Ka Man
Chu, William
Wong, Ming-Yu
2020

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Purpose: This study aimed at understanding the perceptions of people with physical disabilities regarding playing Light Volleyball (LVB), identifying the possible constraints and risks they might face while playing, and providing their suggestions for fine-tuning the Light Volleyball intervention programmes.

 

Method: Four focus group interviews were conducted with 17 participants who joined the Light Volleyball trial programme. The participants were 11 males and 6 females, with an average age of 53.5 years (SD=11.83 years). People with poliomyelitis (n = 15), spinal cord injury (n = 1), hearing impairment (n = 1) were included.

 

Results: Participants indicated improved reactivity and coordination, cooperation in team, happiness, and novelty in general as positive outcomes while playing Light Volleyball. They preferred to play in the seated position (i.e., sitting light volleyball - SLVB), and with simpler rules. They believed that their ability to play Light Volleyball was subject to their body constraints.

 

Conclusion: Sitting Light Volleyball can be one of the new physical activity options for future sport promotion among people with physical disabilities in the community. The effectiveness of playing Sitting Light Volleyball in enhancing health among people with physical disabilities needs to be studied in future.

Menstrual Hygiene Management: Challenges and Coping Strategies for Adolescents with Disabilities in the Kumasi Metro of Ghana

Enoch, Acheampong
Nadutey, Alberta
Afful, Barbara Fosua
Anokye, Reindolf
2020

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Purpose: Effective menstrual hygiene management is vital to the health, well- being, dignity, empowerment, mobility and productivity of girls and women. This study was conducted to ascertain menstrual hygiene management challenges and coping strategies of adolescents with disabilities in the Kumasi Metro of Ghana.

 

Method: An exploratory study design with qualitative approach was employed to select 18 participants. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, and then transcribed and categorised into specific themes.

 

Results: Females with visual impairment had difficulty in maintaining good menstrual hygiene because of problems in detecting menstrual blood, inability to fix sanitary pads appropriately and wash underwear properly, and anxiety and stress from not knowing whether their period has started. The problems of those with physical impairment were related to inaccessible washrooms, long hours of being seated on the part of wheelchair-users, and difficulty in fixing sanitary pads for those with upper limb impairment. For those with hearing impairment, the main challenge was the communication barrier between them and their significant others whenever they needed help.

 

Conclusion: There are common challenges faced by all girls across the globe with regard to menstrual hygiene management. Adolescent females with disability however face additional challenges with regard to MHM. Those with physical disability encounter accessibility challenges, while the main challenge for the deaf and those with speech problems is communication. The visually impaired live in anxiety due to fear of staining their clothes.

Life Accomplishment, Social Functioning and Participation of South-Eastern Nigerians with Lower Limb Amputation

Akosile, Olusanjo Christopher
Okonkwo, Arinze Christian
Maruf, Adesina Fatai
Okoye, Chiebuka Emmanuel
2020

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Purpose: For a better understanding of the possible impact of impairments and disabilities on the life of individuals with lower limb amputation,it is important to explore the levels of Life Accomplishment (LA), Social Functioning and Participation (SFP) among them.The present study, set in South-Eastern Nigeria, aimed to study these levels and the influence of selected clinical and demographic variables on these constructs.

 

Method: This cross-sectional survey involved 60 individuals with lower limb amputation (46 unilateral, 14 bilateral) recruited from all the five South-Eastern Nigerian States. The Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ), Participation Scale and Life Habit Questionnaire were used for measuring levels of social functioning, social participation and life accomplishment, respectively. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test the hypotheses. Alpha level was set at 0.05.

 

Results: Most of the participants (51.7%-58.3%) had low levels of social functioning across SFQ domains. Most of them (61.7%) had severe participation restrictions, and they all had reduced life accomplishments. Participants with bilateral amputation had poorer levels of social functioning (P<0.0001), participation restriction (P<0.0001), and life habits accomplishment (P<0.0001) than their counterparts with unilateral amputation. Individuals with below-knee amputation had significantly better levels of social functioning (P<0.0001) and participation (P<0.0001) than those with above-knee amputation. Participants with prosthetic mobility aids had significantly better levels of social functioning (P<0.0001) and participation (P<0.0001) than those with no prosthetic mobility aids. There was no significant difference in the levels of social functioning and participation between male and female participants, but female participants had statistically significant (P<0.0001) higher scores in nine out of twelve life habit domains than their male counterparts.

 

Conclusion and Implications: Low social functioning, severe participation restrictions, and reduced life accomplishments were prevalent among individuals with lower limb amputation, particularly amongthose with bilateral and above- knee amputations. There is a need to routinely evaluate the studied constructs among individuals with lower limb amputation. The provision of prosthetic aids may help to improve their levels of life accomplishment, social functioning and participation.

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