African Journal of Disability最新文献

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), fatigue is among the leading clinical symptoms. It is one of the most disabling symptoms for most MS people.

Objectives: This research measures the prevalence of fatigue and its impact on the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial abilities of individuals with MS in Morocco.

Method: This cross-sectional and descriptive study included 152 participants. Data were collected via an online survey using the snowball method, incorporating sociodemographic characteristics and the Arabic version of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale.

Results: According to the results, 89.4% of respondents experienced pathological fatigue, with an average score of 65.52 (± 18.00). There was a significant relationship between pathological fatigue, age (p = 0.0324), and clinical phenotype (p = 0.041). Fatigue negatively impacted participants' physical, cognitive, and psychological capacities, with average scores of 70.38 (± 8.15), 62.28 (± 10.23), and 73.87 (± 1.86), respectively.

Conclusion: The results of our study confirmed a high prevalence of fatigue among people with MS in Morocco. Sustained research in this field remains crucial, as it enables the formulation of strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of life for those impacted by MS.

Contribution: This study is the first in Morocco to examine fatigue prevalence in people with MS and its impact on their physical, cognitive, and psychosocial abilities. High fatigue levels hinder the integration of people with MS into professional and student life. The findings emphasize the need for effective symptom and fatigue management.

Background: Quality maternal health care is central to the Sustainable Development Goals efforts to reduce maternal mortality, yet there remain limited quantitative data on maternal care inequities for women with disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives: This study aims to understand the differences in maternal care providers for women with and without disabilities.

Method: We used Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys from 13 sub-Saharan African countries conducted between 2017-2020. We used logistic and multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationship between disability (Washington Group definition) and antenatal care attendance and the type of care provider for antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and postnatal and postpartum checks. All analyses were adjusted for age, wealth, country, and location.

Results: The sample included 10 021 women, including 306 (3.1%) women with disabilities. There were small absolute and no relative differences in antenatal care attendance, qualified antenatal care provider, postnatal, and postpartum checks, for disabled and women without disabilities. Women with disabilities had some evidence of higher odds of having a doctor at their birth compared to women without disabilities (aOR = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.99-2.33).

Conclusion: This study shows small absolute and no relative differences between women with and without disabilities for antenatal access and provider types for maternal care, though these findings are limited by a small sample and no data on care quality, acceptability, or outcomes. More research on care quality and outcomes is needed.

Contribution: This study is the first quantitative, multi-country study in sub-Saharan Africa to examine maternal care seeking patterns, demonstrating important data on maternal health indicators for women with disabilities.

Background: Caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) are critical in the survival and well-being of their children. Despite the caregivers' particularly demanding responsibilities, literature on their experiences is limited.

Objectives: This study explored the caregivers' experiences of providing care to children with CP.

Method: An explorative qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews was employed. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed guided by Colaizzi's seven-step methodology.

Results: Two themes emerged: the challenges in caregiving and positive experiences of providing care. Caregivers faced financial, psychological, social and physical challenges such as stigmatisation, a lack of work accommodations, time constraints due to demands of providing care, strained family relations, isolation, exclusion, emotional and physical exhaustion in their caregiving role. Despite the challenges, they also had fulfilling, positive experiences. Caregivers became more resilient, some relationships were strengthened and awareness of the CP condition increased over time.

Conclusion: Caring for a child with CP is challenging. Cerebral palsy is a permanent disability; therefore, a holistic, long-term perspective to supporting caregivers is necessary to ensure they can care for their children adequately.

Contribution: There is a need for various support structures for caregivers to lessen the burden of care. It is necessary to establish the relationships between the support structures available and the way that these structures are viewed and consequently utilised by the caregivers. This study highlights the experiences and needs of caregivers to inform stakeholders on intervention strategies.

Background: International literature has evidenced that Deaf people have been disadvantaged during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there is currently little research published within the South African context.

Objectives: This study investigated the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent response measures impacted Deaf adults in Cape Town.

Method: Using a descriptive approach, semi-structured, qualitative interviews were held with 15 Deaf adults in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants were purposively selected through a local Deaf organisation. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Data revealed the challenges experienced when accessing information, the impact of communication barriers on daily life, and how the response measures impacted access to healthcare.

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate how the needs of the Deaf community were overlooked and their voices disregarded during the planning of the national pandemic response, ultimately having detrimental consequences. Therefore, the authors argue for greater inclusion of Deaf representatives to ensure equal access to information and resources, especially during a crisis.

Contribution: This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of disability and insights can inform both future research and interventions to promote equity and inclusion for Deaf people.

Background: Full-service schools (FSSs) were introduced into the South African school system as part of the movement towards inclusive education.

Objectives: The authors of this article embarked on a study to obtain the opinions and feelings of a group of teachers about FSSs and inclusive education. Thus, the 'voice' of these teachers could be heard.

Method: The research followed a qualitative approach using group discussions and classroom observations. Triangulation was used to verify information.

Results: The data revealed that the teacher participants had definite opinions and feelings about inclusive education in FSSs and their classroom experiences also came to light. The themes arising from the research are the teachers' opinions about teaching in FSSs, support from the school and the school management, discipline in the schools, teaching methods, language issues, religion and parent involvement.

Conclusion: It is clear that the specific needs of teachers whose schools were transformed into FSSs will have to be attended to. The teachers are the ones who have to apply inclusive education in their classrooms, and it is essential that teachers' teaching and personal needs in full-service classrooms are addressed.

Contribution: The article contributes to a better understanding of the teachers' important role in FSSs and the problems experienced by the teachers. This aligns with the ethos of inclusive education and human rights included in the scope of the journal.

Background: Cooperative inquiry gives a voice to marginalised groups and breaks down power imbalances which makes it suitable for researching practical issues at community level.

Objectives: The objective of this article is to illustrate how cooperative inquiry can be utilised to empower members of marginalised communities in facilitating social change.

Method: The study setting is in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. A cooperative inquiry methodology was used. The inquiry group consisted of wheelchair users (9), their care givers (8), taxi drivers (7) and stakeholders (4). Data collection comprised 16 sessions, alternating between action and reflection. Inductive thematic analysis of data of all the phases was done to ensure that cooperative inquiry gives voice to marginalised communities.

Results: The four themes that is, practical arrangements, understanding process, purpose, bonding and a cohesive group were identified. The themes showed progress from logistics, through individual understanding, to the group becoming one, and working together. Each of these phases is important in the development of a cooperative inquiry.

Conclusion: Cooperative inquiry methodology can bring people together in a positive way to facilitate social change, and developing practical solutions to challenges.

Contribution: Making use of a cooperative inquiry methodology to bring social change, minibus taxi services can be made accessible for wheelchair users. Concepts of social justice and decolonisation were imbued in the methodology.

Background: Although trauma is one of the leading causes of behaviour problems among children with disabilities, there has been limited scholarly interest in trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education.

Objectives: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) trauma management model was used to study teachers' awareness of trauma management among students with disabilities studying in regular classrooms.

Method: A total of 271 teachers were recruited from two municipalities in the central region of Ghana to complete the Teacher Trauma Management Scale developed for this study. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, mean scores, multivariate analysis of variances, and linear regression.

Results: The results showed teachers' uncertainty towards trauma management, and a positive correlation was also found between the tenets of the study framework.

Conclusion: The study concluded with a recommendation for contextual development of the curriculum to guide teacher training in trauma management.

Contribution: Studies on trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education are scarce. This study extends the literature on inclusive education to teacher development to support trauma management among students with disabilities in regular schools.

Background: Intellectual disabilities refer to a permanent brain condition that interferes with a learner's ability to perform basic living tasks, academic tasks and social interactions. By observing the motor proficiency levels of these learners, one can determine the extent of a learner's possible physical motor proficiency barriers.

Objective: To determine the motor proficiency levels of learners with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) Brief Form.

Method: This quantitative descriptive study included 46 learners (17 girls and 29 boys) from a Mangaung school for learners with special needs between the ages of 15 and 17 years.

Results: Indicated that 31 learners (67.4%) out of 46 learners identified with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities had a well-below average; 11 learners (23.9%) had a below average and only 4 learners (8.7%) had average motor proficiency levels.

Conclusion: Alarmingly, this indicates that the majority of learners have severe motor difficulties that may reduce these learners' abilities to perform tasks using gross and fine motor skills. Reported motor proficiency levels can be used as a guide to direct future motor intervention programmes.

Contribution: Timely interventions are central to improving learners' motor difficulties. This study focused on providing information regarding the motor proficiency levels of South African learners with ID that was not previously explored. This was an attempt to bridge the gap in knowledge pertaining to the use of standardised motor proficiency tests for South African learners with ID.

Background: Freedom of movement, which is dependent on community mobility, is a key contributor to good quality of life and important in the establishment of a person's community identity.

Objective: To describe the community mobility experiences of wheelchair users who lived in a socio-economically challenged setting.

Method: The study setting was Paarl, a peri-urban area of the Western Cape province of South Africa. This article reports findings from phase 1 (a reflection on past community mobility and minibus taxi use experiences) of cycle 1 of a co-operative inquiry. Nine adult wheelchair users, eight caregivers, six minibus taxi drivers, and four community stakeholders participated. Data were collected during a focus group discussion and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Four themes, 'Knowledge, attitudes, and actions', 'Natural, manmade and mechanical environmental barriers', 'Health and safety concerns' and 'Poor community participation and quality of life' were identified. The themes showed how difficult an everyday activity like moving around in the community were for wheelchair users, and how that limited their community involvement.

Conclusions: Wheelchair users living in a low-income peri-urban area struggled to participate in community activities meaningful to them because various barriers hampered community wheelchair mobility and minibus taxi use.

Contribution: The findings regarding community mobility struggles and specifically minibus taxi access guided specific recommendations and the further phases and cycles of the co-operative inquiry. The purpose of the co-operative inquiry was to allow co-researchers to find their voice and develop solutions to minibus taxi access for wheelchair users.