African Journal of Disability最新文献

Introduction: Young people with physical disabilities frequently lack opportunities to develop their leadership potential. These include their ability to make decisions and be able to take charge of their leisure programmes. An argument is made that developing leadership skills for youth with physical disabilities can be facilitated by participating in leisure education programmes.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore youth with physical disabilities' perceptions of how leisure education can be used as a tool to develop their leadership.

Method: This study used a descriptive qualitative research design to collect data using the purposive sampling method from 10 youths with physical disabilities aged 18 to 34 years in the Western Cape, South Africa. One-on-one interviews with semi-structured and open-ended questions were used to collect data for this study.

Results: The findings of this study include 4 main themes and 11 sub-themes. This study's findings showed that participants' perceptions and experiences were evidence of leisure education being used to build their capacity as leaders within their society. Furthermore, their understanding of how they apply leadership opportunities is an encouraging moment for their development.

Conclusion: Leisure education should be considered as a means to promote leadership in youth with physical disabilities in South Africa.

Contribution: Knowledge and experience about youth with physical disabilities, their leisure education experiences and skills development during activities.

Background: Persons with disabilities generally face greater challenges in accessing healthcare and interventions compared with the general population. Malaria is one of the diseases that can seriously affect individuals with disabilities, as it requires early diagnosis and prompt treatment.

Objective: This study explores the extent to which locally available malaria services and interventions are inclusive of persons with disabilities and identifies associated access barriers.

Method: A qualitative case study focusing on social, cultural and health system factors associated with the inclusion of persons with disabilities in malaria services was conducted in Kigoma Region, western Tanzania. Thematic analysis of emerging themes identified barriers affecting access to locally available malaria services and interventions.

Results: Inclusion of persons with disabilities in planning, implementation and reporting of health issues in different malaria programmes was reported to be limited. Persons with disabilities were unable to access malaria services because of different barriers such as the distance of the service provision sites, communication and information issues and a lack of financial resources.

Conclusion: Persons with disabilities are widely excluded from malaria care provision across the entire health services paradigm, impacting access and utilisation to this vulnerable population. Barriers to malaria service access among persons with disabilities were physical, attitudinal, financial and informational.

Contribution: The findings of this study identify that malaria intervention stakeholders need to take a holistic approach and fully involve individuals with disabilities at all levels and scope of malaria service planning and provision.

Background: Historically, in South Africa (SA), single motherhood has been part of the landscape and continues to increase. Disability in children is also increasing, yet it remains under-researched. Mothers are often left to raise their children with a disability alone, yet their voiced maternal experiences continue to largely be unheard, particularly in SA.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of single mothers raising a child with a disability in SA. Furthermore, the aim was to explore how these mothers navigate their complex realities and practice of mothering, and to amplify the voices of mothers. Finally, the study sought to shed light on the particular contextual factors that affect single maternal experiences in caring for a child with a disability.

Method: Twelve South African single mothers raising a child with a disability between the ages of 7 years and 18 years were individually interviewed in this exploratory interpretivist study. Thematic analysis was utilised on the data.

Results: The four themes highlight the complex, multi-level strain of raising a child with a disability, which has had a significant impact on the social, financial and emotional facets of single mothers' lives.

Conclusion and contribution: The findings of the study are important for developing a thorough understanding of the needs of single mothers in this specific context as well as their daily experiences as mothers of children with disabilities. These needs include the necessity of psychosocial support and equipping single mothers with accurate knowledge about their child's disability so that they can make better accommodations for themselves and their child.