Resources search

Access to Social Organisations, Utilisation of Civil Facilities and Participation in Empowerment Groups by People with Disabilities in Maharashtra, India

GOVINDASAMY, Karthikeyan
DHONDGE, Suresh
DUTTA, Ambarish
MENDIS, Tina
2019

Expand view

Purpose: This survey aimed to assess the baseline level of access to social institutions, utilisation of civil facilities and participation in empowerment schemes by people with disabilities in Amravati district of Maharashtra State, India.

 

Method: Sixty villages from two blocks in Amravati district were randomly selected for the survey. From these villages, 522 households were sampled and 3056 individuals were surveyed. Interviews were conducted with 590 individuals with disability from among the surveyed population. The structured interview schedule consisted of demographic data, access to social organisations, utilisation of civil services, and participation in empowerment schemes. 

 

Results: Locomotor disability was the most prevalent (44.6%) type of disability in the study area. Disabilities were more often present among male adolescents and young adults than among the older population and females. Over 50% of the study participants had no occupation (including children and students) and had not been to school. Only 48% had achieved secondary education and more. The proportion of disability among people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was considerably higher than among the general population. Access to social institutions was less than 50% for most of the items, and was even lower among females. Except for the ration card and Aadhar card, civil services were generally under-utilised by people with disability. Only 3.2% of the participants were members of self-help groups, and not a single person was a member of the Disabled People’s Organisation.

 

Conclusions:  In the study area access to social institutions, utilisation of civil services and participation in empowerment schemes was very low.

 

Limitations: Data, including general socio-demographic, access and utility data, was not collected for the general population but was limited to people with disabilities. This restricted the scope for comparison between people with and without disabilities.

 

 

Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development, Vol 30, No 1 (2019)

Stereotypes about adults with learning disabilities: Are professionals a cut above the rest?

JAMAL, Gulgoona
2019

Expand view

Purpose: The study examined the differing perceptions of professionals and the public (non-professionals) regarding life success for adults with learning disability (LD).

 

Method: The sample (N = 342) consisted of 175 professionals (P) and 167 non-professionals (NP), with a mean age of 30.02 years and S.D. = 12.42 years. Their perceptions about life success of an individual with learning disability were studied with the help of four vignettes that provided hypothetical information about the age, class, and hobbies of a college student. The four vignettes were identical in describing the student and only differed in terms of gender (M and F), and presence and absence of learning disability (LD and NLD).

 

Results: No significant difference was found between attitudes held by professionals and non-professionals. Both the groups showed significantly greater negative attitudes about perceived life success for adults with learning disability than for those without learning disability. The results have been discussed with the help of social psychological theories in the areas of attitude, bias, and stigmatization.

 

Conclusion and Implications: It is clear that a negative bias exists toward individuals with learning disability in the urban Indian milieu. The fact that not only the public but also professionals were biased against individuals with learning disability regarding their life success implies that negative stereotypes are deeply embedded. This research may provide the impetus to address issues like prevalence of stigma against learning disability in society, its effective attenuation as well as equality and inclusion for individuals with learning disability.

Cross-sectional Survey to Assess Prevalence of Disability and Access to Services in Albay Province, The Philippines

HODGE, Marcus
BOLINAS, Amable
JAUCIAN, Erlynn
BONEO, Rebecca
SCHAPIRA, Allan
VILLANUEVA, Mary Mediatrix V
2017

Expand view

Aim:  A cluster randomized cross-sectional survey to assess the prevalence of disability and access to support services was conducted in Albay Province, the Philippines in April 2016.

 

Method:  The population-based survey methodologies developed by the Washington Group of the United Nations Statistical Commission and UNICEF were utilized.  A sample of 70 barangays (the 3rd level administrative division in the Philippines) was selected as clusters, with probability proportional to size, and 30 households were selected randomly in each barangay to be surveyed.

 

Results:  The estimated prevalence of disability using the standard criteria of the Washington Group and UNICEF among children (2-17 years old) was 2.0% and for adults (≥18 years old) it was 6.5%.  The estimated prevalence of disability was higher in rural than in urban areas.  Deficiencies in the performance of existing services were identified; access by children with disabilities to support services was lowest in rural highland and rural plain barangays.

 

Conclusions: There was a large unmet demand for support services addressing the needs of persons with disabilities in Albay Province, especially in rural highland areas.  Persons with disabilities were disadvantaged in access to education and employment; many had not been educated in their basic rights.

 

Implications:  To identify, educate and fully support persons with disabilities, community-based rehabilitation (CBR), health and other rehabilitation services must communicate effectively with each other, their current work should be mapped and analysed, their comparative strengths identified, and their future work coordinated.  It is a priority to educate persons with disabilities and their families about their rights, and facilitate their access to support services; this requires increased investment in communication targeting persons with disabilities and the communities, especially rural.  Providers caring for persons with disabilities need to work in partnership to identify unreached persons with disabilities.  Prevalence surveys, with stronger focus on the profiles and performance of CBR and related services, would add to the evidence-base to improve the quality and coverage of services for persons with disabilities.

Effects of Multisensory Training on Balance and Gait in Persons with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomised Controlled Trial

KUTTY, N A M
MAJIDA, N A
2013

Expand view

Purpose: Progressive deterioration of physical function occurs in persons with Type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. This study assessed the effects of multisensory training on balance and gait in persons with diabeticneuropathies.

 

Method: Thirty two persons with peripheral neuropathies were enrolled, randomised, and subdivided into 2 groups - an experimental group of 16 participants with diabetes (65 ± 2.12 years) and a control group of 16 participants with diabetes (68 ± 2.17 years). For 6 weeks, both groups were given health education on diabetes for 30 minutes a week. In addition, the experimental group practised a multisensory exercise programme for 30 minutes, 3 times a week over 6 weeks. Outcome measures used were ‘timed up and go’ test for assessing balance and ‘6-minute walk’ test for gait. Standard descriptive statistics were used to report means, standard deviation, and range for baseline characteristics. Paired and unpaired ‘t-tests’ were used wherever necessary, to determine significant differences in data among groups and between pre-test and post-test scores (p<0.05).

 

Results: By the end of the trial period, the intervention group showed a significant improvement in scores of the ‘timed up and go’ test (t= 14.7092), but there was no statistically significant difference in the ‘6-minute walk’ test scores (p=0.7206, t= 0.3644).There was no difference for both measures in the control group.

 

Conclusion: The study showed that multisensory exercises could improve balance in persons with Type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. The findings suggest that along with physiological sensory factors, cognitive-behavioural factors and strengthening of the lower limb muscles should be considered when treating diabetic persons with gait alterations.

E-bulletin