Influence of Capacity of Caregivers in Support of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

This study aimed to triangulate the critical variable of caregiver support that influences social service accessibility by understanding the roles of caregivers in supporting children with disabilities within the informal settlements of Kenya’s sub-county of Kasarani. The primary target population includes caregivers, often parents, of children with disabilities, and the secondary target is stakeholders, funding agencies, and community-based humanitarian organizations within Kasarani. A questionnaire was provided to 200 prospective participants, with 157 responding. The resulting data was encoded and analyzed using SPSS to reveal descriptive statistics and a regression analysis model to determine relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The results show that social service accessibility in Kasarani is influenced by the four identified targets of this study. Specifically, a one-unit increase in caregiver participation provides a 0.231-unit increase in accessibility of social services. The findings suggest that increasing home care for children with disabilities is vital; therefore, it is recommended that the government use policies to establish additional homes for disabled children and expand funding for home care and local-based community organizations to improve the lives of those with disabilities.