Resources search

Experiences of teaching sexual and reproductive health to students with intellectual disabilities

NELSON, Becky
PETTERSSON, Karen Odberg
EMMELIN, Maria
2020

Expand view

There is growing awareness and international commitment to improving sexual and reproductive health for persons with intellectual disabilities. Despite this, people with intellectual disabilities continue to face stigma and have limited access to sexual health education and information. This qualitative phenomenological study uses data from 10 interviews to describe what it means to teach sexual and reproductive health and rights to students with intellectual disabilities at special-needs schools in southern Sweden. The meaning of teachers’ experience is described through their efforts to ‘accept the challenge to coach special-needs students into adulthood’. Findings show that sexual and reproductive health in special-needs schools covers a broad range of topics and that the teacher must adapt to students’ shifting needs. They also reveal that teachers are motivated and have access to the necessary resources to teach sexual and reproductive health but feel they lack the skills to address students’ particular sexual health issues, including questions of culture and religion. Schools are the main source of sexual health information in Sweden and therefore play a crucial role in providing equal education and promoting public health.

Integrating face washing into a school-based, handwashing behavior change program to prevent trachoma in Turkana, Kenya

TIDWELL, James
et al
August 2019

Expand view

Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness, and facial cleanliness has been associated with reduced odds of trachomatous inflammation and Chlamydia trachomatis infection.  This study reports on the results of a program integrating face washing into a school-based handwashing promotion program in Turkana County, Kenya

 

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2019 Oct;101(4):767-773

doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0205.

HIV prevention, treatment and care programming for people with disabilities (Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report No. 7)

BELL, Emma
CORBY, Nick
February 2019

Expand view

This document provides a rapid review of the evidence on disability inclusive approaches to HIV prevention and response. The purpose of this review is to inform DFID’s policy and programming around integrated approaches to HIV, care and treatment. After briefly outlining the methodology in section 2, section 3 provides an overview of the evidence base on disability and HIV programming, and section 4 provides an overview of key barriers to accessing HIV-related services for people with disabilities. Finally, section 5 provides a series of case studies highlighting lessons learned including key enabling factors. This review finds that overall the evidence base on disability inclusive HIV programming is limited, with the majority of evidence from disability-specific interventions targeted at specific groups of people with different impairments

Disability and nutrition programming: evidence and learning (Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report No. 6)

HOLDEN, Jenny
CORBY, Nick
February 2019

Expand view

This document provides a rapid review of the evidence on approaches to ensuring people with disabilities are reached through nutrition programming, focusing on children, adolescents, and women of reproductive age in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The purpose of this review is to support DFID advisers and partners designing and implementing programmes with nutrition components to ensure they are more inclusive of people with disabilities. After outlining the methodology in Section 2, Section 3 includes an overview of available evidence on what works to ensure nutrition programming reaches people with disabilities, as well as an assessment of the strength of the evidence, and highlighting key research gaps. Section 4 provides a summary on factors affecting access for people with disabilities, and Section 5 concludes by drawing a series of considerations for policy and programming to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind when it comes to government-led and development partner-led programmes to tackle malnutrition. Case studies of approaches are included in annex 1 to give further insights on promising practices and key learnings

Training Needs of Community-based Rehabilitation Workers for the Effective Implementation of CBR Programmes

VUUREN, Julia Mary Jansen-van
ALDERSEY, Heather Michelle
2019

Expand view

Purpose: This review investigates the training needs of Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers that would enable them to effectively facilitate CBR programmes. Emphasis was placed on identifying: (a) the skills that CBR workers require (b) the training currently available for them, and (c) the gaps in current training.

 

Method: A scoping review was conducted using on-line database searches (Medline, Embase, Cinahl, PsycInfo, Global Health) for English articles from 2006 onwards. A combination of keywords related to CBR, personnel, and training were applied. Hand searches of reference lists and the DCID journal were also conducted. Grey literature related to training, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), CBR Regional Networks and organisations affiliated with CBR were included as secondary data. Thirty-three articles and thirty-five sources from the grey literature were included. Data was organised under the three objectives outlined above – i.e., required skills, available training and training gaps.

 

Results: CBR workers represent a diverse group requiring a broad range of skills. A new cadre of mid-level workers is also necessary to effectively implement the CBR guidelines. There is currently no standardised training for CBR workers and training varies widely, depending on context. CBR workers require further training in various clinical, social, management, communication, and cultural competence skills across the spectrum of the CBR Matrix, and specifically in empowering persons with disabilities and facilitating community development. They also need to develop critical reasoning, creativity, and compassion.

 

Conclusion: A standardised approach to training CBR workers would be beneficial to ensure basic standards and quality services, to allow meaningful comparison and evaluation across contexts, to recognise the role of mid-level CBR workers, and to strengthen the workforce. Further research is required to determine minimal competencies, define the roles of various CBR workers, and evaluate the effectiveness of training.

Seeing the invisible: Sexuality-related knowledge, attitudes and behavior of children and youth with disabilities in China

SHANGHAI INSITITUTE OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD RESEARCH (SIPPR)
UNESCO
HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
2019

Expand view

Young people with disabilities have the same right to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) as their peers without disabilities, but their needs and rights are often overlooked. This study examines the SRH status of young people with disabilities in China. In particular, the study explored the sexuality-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people with disabilities as well as their access to sexuality-related information, education and services. The findings of the study are intended to provide evidence to support decision-making by government agencies, educators, development workers and other relevant stakeholders regarding developing and implementing disability-inclusive SRH and sexuality education policies and programmes for young people in China.

The study, using quantitative and qualitative methods, was conducted in 2015 among unmarried young persons aged 12 to 24 living with visual, hearing, physical and intellectual disabilities, in both urban and rural areas. The analysis was based on data collected through 707 completed valid questionnaires, 20 group interviews and 35 individual interviews with young people with disabilities, and individual interviews with 60 parents and teachers, along with one case study.

HIV & disability in West Africa: A combined analysis of 4 studies conducted in Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde (2019) - VIH & Handicap en Afrique de l’Ouest : Une analyse combinée de 4 études conduites au Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinée Bis

DE BEAUDRAP, Pierre
2019

Expand view

This paper includes four studies which seek to better understand the situation by HIV-related situation of disabled men and women living in West Africa. 
Using epidemiological investigation, qualitative interviews and collections of testimonies, these studies offer insight into the vulnerability of people with disabilities in the area of ​​sexual health
 

Women and young persons with disabilities: Guidelines for providing rights-based and gender-responsive services to address gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health and rights

HOLOBOFF RADFORD, Anastasia
et al
November 2018

Expand view

This publications aims to provide practical and concrete guidelines for making Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services more inclusive of and accessible to women and young persons with disabilities and for targeting interventions to meet their disability-specific needs.
 
Critical services for all victims and survivors of GBV include health services (e.g. first-line support, sexual assault examination and care, mental health assessment and care), justice and policing services (e.g. assessment and investigation, perpetrator accountability and reparations, safety and protection, justice sector coordination), social services (e.g. crisis counselling; help lines; legal and rights information, advice, and representation; psychosocial support and counselling), and coordination at both the national and local level.

 

Fundamental SRHR services for women and young persons—with and without disabilities— include comprehensive sexuality education; information, goods, and services for the full range of modern contraceptive methods, including emergency contraception; maternal/newborn healthcare (including antenatal care, skilled attendance at delivery, emergency obstetric care, post-partum care, and newborn care); prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for sexual and reproductive health issues (e.g. sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, syphilis, and HPV, cancers of the reproductive system and breast cancer, and infertility); safe and accessible abortion, where it is not against the law; and post-abortion care to treat complications from unsafe abortion.

 

While the primary audience of these Guidelines is GBV and SRHR service providers and support staff, these Guidelines are also intended as a valuable resource for all stakeholders—including those in government, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations—involved in designing, developing, implementing, or advocating for GBV or SRHR services for women and young persons with disabilities. 

Women with disabilities, HIV and sexual violence: Data tell us they are still left behind

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
July 2018

Expand view

This leaflet intends to underline the existence of intersectional factors of vulnerability amongst Women with Disabilities with respect to HIV/AIDS and sexual violence in Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau. The figures presented here are taken from two studies carried out in Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau in 2017. In Burkina Faso, 28,667 people were interviewed in total, among whom 978 identified themselves as persons with disabilities (using the Washington Group Short Set of Questions). For the biobehavioral study in Guinea Bissau, 17,110 people were interviewed in total, among whom 1,147 identified themselves as persons with disabilities

Prevalence of HIV infection among people with disabilities : a population-based observational study in Yaounde, Cameroon (HandiVIH)

DE BEAUDROP, Pierre
et al
January 2017

Expand view

In the HandiVIH study, an estimation and a comparison of HIV prevalence and associated risk factors between people with and without disabilities. In this cross-sectional, population-based, observational study, two-phase random sampling was used to recruit adults with disabilities and a control group matched for age, sex, and residential location from households of the general population. The Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability was used to identify people with disabilities. An HIV test was administrated and a life-course history interview carried out with participants. The primary outcome was the prevalence of HIV among participants with and without disabilities. The study took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, between Oct 2, 2014, and Nov 30, 2015. 

The Lancet HIV · January 2017 

DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(16)30209-0

Chap. 2: Intervention Cost-Effectiveness: Overview of Main Messages

DT, Jamison
JG, Breman
AR, Measham
et al
September 2016

Expand view

"Although efficient spending on health has always been a desirable goal, it is particularly critical in the face of recent threats, such as HIV/AIDS and drug-resistant bacteria, as well as the problems presented by increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), that threaten to roll back the significant health gains achieved in the past two decades. This book is an opportunity to assess anew the costs associated with and the health gains attainable from specific interventions and thereby better inform the allocation of new health funding." 

Access to HIV and AIDS care: persons with disabilities still left behind

MAC-SEING, Muriel
October 2015

Expand view

This article presents disability-inclusive good practices, policy and program related opportunities. It highlights a series of facts and figures related to people with disabilities and HIV infection and the interaction between HIV and disability.  The article goes on to outline Handicap International’s proposal to “remove HIV-related barriers for persons with disabilities” in a two-track approach that includes decision makers, service providers, and service users. Finally, the article shares discussions of successful inclusive practices involving HIV and persons with disabilities in various communities around the world and the key challenges and opportunities to include disability into HIV and AIDS

Contextual factors around the sexual abuse of people with disability in East Africa

WADDELL, Mary Ann
May 2015

Expand view

This literature review on the issue of sexual violence against people in East Africa aims to identify applied research. It contains a synthesis of the knowledge contained in the best selected research, reading notes and an annotated bibliography. The synthesis provides an objective summary of the of the state of the knowledge concerning the sexual abuse of people with disabilities in East Africa

 

 

Responding to the Syrian health crisis : the need for data and research

COUTTS, Adam
et al
March 2015

Expand view

This article assesses the impact of the war in Syrian the context of the health system and neighbouring countries and the rise in non-communicable diseases. The authors advocate that  urgent policy and research attention needs to be given to the generation of timely and high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of the humanitarian health response, the capacity of health systems within Syria, and the issue of non-communicable diseases among internally displaced people and refugees

The Lancet, Vol 3, Issue 3, PE8-E9, Mar 01, 2015

 

 

Online resource for parents and carers of children with autism

SIVARAMAKRISHNAN, Shobha
March 2015

Expand view

An information resource for the parents, carers and any other health professionals involved in the welfare of children on the autism spectrum. Within this document, it is outlined what is meant by the term 'autism', possible signs to look for in assessing and diagnosing a condition on the spectrum, associated physical or mental impairments which can be associated with a condition on the spectrum, and finally how a healthcare or other relevant professional (eg. education) may be best able to manage the condition in a variety of conditions

Note: The user has given permission for the uploaded document to be reproduced and made publicly available on the Source website

How rehabilitation can help people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa : an evidence-informed tool for rehab providers

Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation
University of Toronto
University of Zambia
March 2015

Expand view

The aim of this e-module (or pdf) is to enhance knowledge about HIV care among rehabilitation providers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to help address the needs of people living with HIV. The resource is divided into 5 sections: the role of rehabilitation in the context of HIV in SSA; what rehabilitation providers need to know about HIV in SSA; rehabilitation interventions that can help people living with HIV in SSA; what rehabilitation providers need to know about caring for children and youth living with HIV in SSA; concepts and tools for measuring rehabilitation outcomes in HIV in SSA. This current resource is a comprehensive adaptation of the 2014 Canadian e-Module for rehabilitation providers in Sub-Saharan Africa which was developed from "A Comprehensive Guide for the Care of Persons with HIV Disease (Module 7)", published by Health Canada and the Wellesley Central Hospital, Toronto, Canada, published in 1998.

Knowledge and perceptions of HIV-infected patients regarding HIV transmission and treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hoang, Dong
Dinh, An T
Groce, Nora
Sullivan, Lynn
March 2015

Expand view

Patient education concerning HIV and antiretroviral (ARV) medications is important for optimal outcomes. The authors assessed the knowledge and perceptions of HIV-infected patients in an ARV education program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study population’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS and ARV medications, perceived stigmatization, and areas of knowledge deficits underscore the need for effective patient education programs addressing poorly understood issues around HIV/AIDS.

Mobile for development : transforming global healthcare through mobile technology

THEVATHASAN, Vanessa
GRADZEWICZ, Agnes
RUETZEL, Sonja
2015

Expand view

This paper outlines the need for greater connectivity & accessibility in less developed countries. Following this, the authors present the benefits of various different ‘mHealth’ solutions, presented through case studies. The report concludes by outlining some of the constraints holding back greater ‘mHealth’ innovation, including financing and sustainability issues

Human Rights

www.macao-tz.org
December 2014

Expand view

Malezi AIDS Care Awareness Organization (MACAO) is a non-profit organization reaching out to neglected Indigenous people in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania.  Macao founded in 2003, Macao is a humanitarian organization that provides assistance to approximately 200,000 Indigenous Maasai community in Ngorongoro district for addressing needs of water and sanitation, food security, health Care Research, Education, Research environment, Maasai Traditional Research, Human Rights and sustainable economic development by strengthening their livelihoods.  In addition to responding to major relief situations, MACAO focuses on long-term community development through over 4 Area Development Project. We welcome the donors and volunteers to join us in this programs, we are wolking in ruro villages.

Pages

E-bulletin