Disability among children in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundDisabilities are impairments or limitations that can vary between groups, localities, and family financial status. These restrictions could range from mental and intellectual to sensory and physical, and could be either congenital or acquired. In the occupied Palestinian territory, little attention is given to people with a disability, reasons behind their disabilities, and the prevalence of different disabilities in communities. This research focuses on the prevalence of disabilities among Palestinian children aged 0–17 years in 2011, in the occupied Palestinian territory and also the associated factors. MethodsWe used data from the Disability Survey in 2011 by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in this analysis. 42 176 children were included, representing all children in the occupied Palestinian territory. We analysed data with frequencies, cross tabs with significance testing, and regression analysis to test for confounders using SPSS version 17. Age was dealt with as a continuous variable and household size was dealt with as a categorical variable. No written consent was required for this study. FindingsPrevalence of disability was 1586 (3·7%), including intellectual disabilities in 521 (33%) children, communication disabilities in 488 (31%), vision disabilities in 437 (28%), memory disabilities in 389 (25%), mobility disabilities in 384 (24%), hearing disabilities in 261 (16%), and mental disabilities in 144 (9%). More disability was reported in boys than in girls (odds ratio [OR] 1·37, 95% CI 1·24–1·52). Disability increased with increasing age groups (OR 1·07, 95% CI 1·06–1·08) and increasing household size (OR 1·02, 95% CI 1·00–1·04). Disability was higher in the south West Bank and Gaza Strip than in the centre West Bank region (OR 1·32, 95% CI 1·11–1·57 for south West Bank; vs 1·20, 1·03–1·42 for Gaza) and higher disability numbers were recorded in refugees than in non-refugees (OR 1·17, 95% CI 1·05–1·31). 520 (33%) children with a disability had more than one disability. InterpretationDisability prevalence was increased in south West Bank and the Gaza strip, and in older children. We could not analyse data by locale (eg, urban, rural, or refugee camp) or socioeconomic status because these variables were not found in the dataset, therefore the prevalence of disability in refugees could not be assessed. Further studies are recommended to identify the factors that account for these findings, with special attention given to children with a disability and refugees. FundingNone.