Prevalence Of Childhood Disability Research Articles

Exploring the disability–poverty nexus in children: a cross-national comparative analysis in Europe

By ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, states committed themselves to ensure an adequate standard of living and social protection to all persons with disabilities, including children. Yet, prior studies showed that children with disabilities are more likely to grow up poor. Existing research has mainly focused on single-country case studies or comparative analyses for low- and middle-income countries. Due to the lack of good quality data, comparative studies on poverty outcomes, its determinants and the poverty-reducing role of social transfers among children with disabilities in high-income countries are largely missing. This article addresses these gaps using the 2017 EU-SILC cross-sectional survey. The results show great differences across Europe in the prevalence of childhood disability, the poverty outcomes of children with disabilities and the poverty-reducing effectiveness of social transfers for them. In only a third of European countries are children with disabilities more likely to live in poor households than children without disabilities. Countries that perform weakly for children without disabilities also perform weakly for children with disabilities. Moreover, social transfers achieve more for children with disabilities in more than half of European countries. The family’s employment participation and social background have the expected poverty-reducing effects for children with disabilities and children without disabilities, though the strength of some effects differs between the two groups within certain geographical regions. However, the income-based poverty indicator disregards the higher costs families with children with disabilities face which underestimates their poverty risk. More research is needed on which poverty indicator accurately reflects the real living standards of children with disabilities.

Prevalence of Childhood Disability in Basrah City Using the Ten Questions Tool

Background: The neglect of disabled children in the developing countries and less information about its types and prevalence in addition to the low level of health services they had.Aim: To identify the prevalence of handicapping disabilities among children up to 9 years of age and their epidemiological pattern in the Basrah city center.Methods: In a population-base, cross-sectional household survey was carried out inBasrah city. A total sample (1734)children, males were 56% and females were 44 % of the sample using the ten questions survey tool.Results: The survey team detected 73 disability cases 48 were males and 25 were females. The detected prevalence of disability in our sample was 37.7%.Disabled children, on average, were in the fourth or fifth birth order among their brothers and sisters and 47 % of them were counted as the second or third disability inthe same family. The number of disabling conditions in the same child varied widely: 31.5% of cases had a single disability, 24.6% had two conditions and 43.8% had three or more conditions. The questionnaire children up to 9 years of age in thesefamilies formed 56.2% of the population.Conclusion: The survey managed successfully to document a comparable estimate of the prevalence rate for childhood disabilities in the community and provided a general picture of their types and suspected causes. It also reported a low service delivery for these disabilities and identified some risk factors related to their occurrence.To apply this survey method in center Basra city is justified in an extended field study with certain modifications to suit the local culture. This study also should be complemented with a second stage referral for follow up examination of detected cases of and evaluation of the disability and its required services.

Childhood Disability and Poverty

As the Convention of the Rights of Children recognizes, children are human beings with a distinct set of rights, and not the passive objects of care and charity. They deserve to be full participants in society, and to live lives free of poverty. But for children, living in poverty is particularly impactful. The foundations for life are built in childhood. In the early part of our lives, our bodies and brains develop their capacities to function and interact with the world. We learn the social skills we need to fit into society, and acquire the human capital necessary to earn a living, support a family, and to fully take part in the life of our community Poverty can stunt this development. So can the onset of a disability. As the World Report on Disability (WHO/World Bank 2011) points out, people with disabilities are all too often excluded from the economic and social lives of their community. And the interaction between disability and poverty has the potential to develop a vicious circle that can greatly limit life opportunities. This paper reviews the literature on disability, poverty, and what is known about the prevalence of childhood disability to discuss the potential for disability to undermine the economic well-being of children throughout their lives. It then uses the case study of Vietnam, to explore their interrelationship in more depth.

Profile of childhood disability in rural Bengal

Objective: Childhood disabilities are common and impose a significant handicap on the affected children and their caregivers. There are limited data on the prevalence of childhood disabilities as assessed by specialist evaluation. We aimed to explore the spectrum of childhood disabilities in a cohort of rural children in North Bengal. Materials and Methods: A descriptive observational study was done in a tertiary care center of rural North Bengal over 2 years. Children aged between 2 and 12 years with some form of disability were included in the study. The demographic and socioeconomic profile and potential risk factors were recorded. Assessment was done by a multidisciplinary team involving pediatricians and faculty from other relevant disciplines. Relevant national guidelines were followed in assessing individual disabilities and their severity. Results: Four hundred and ninety-one disabled children were included in the study. The prevalence of childhood disability was approximately 2/10,000. Majority had multiple disabilities (56.62%). Sixty-one percent of the children were male, and the majority hailed from low-income families. Combination of locomotor disability and mental retardation was the most common form of disability, pure locomotor disability being the next most common. Proportions of visual and hearing impairment were 15.28% and 13.65%, respectively; 20.57% of the children had moderate to profound mental retardation, and 2.65% were diagnosed with mental illness. Consanguineous parents were noted in 12.42%, and one or more adverse perinatal events were recorded in the great majority of cases. Conclusions: This study exclusively on children by team of specialist medical personnel can serve as an index study profiling childhood disability in rural India.

Validity and reliability of the Neurobehavioral Evaluation of Infant Development (VANEDELA). Screening Instrument from one to 24 months in primary health care in Mexico

Introduction. Early identification of developmental delays or disabilities in children is a challenge and a global concern. In Mexico, the prevalence of childhood disability is 6%, and it is estimated that 25% of the unattended delays will have consequences on their potential. VANEDELA is a rapid screening test to detect and prevent developmental disorders in primary health care. Objective. To determine the external validity and test-retest reliability of the behavioral (DB) and reflex (DR) developmental formats of the VANEDELA screening test, compared with the diagnostic test of Gesell’s Developmental Schedule Test. Method. Descriptive, transversal, and prospective study in 379 infants aged one to 24 months attending the Neurodevelopment Monitoring Laboratory / INP and the ISSSTE Tlalpan Family Medicine Clinic from 2011 to 2014. Measurements: A set of four aspects was evaluated including validity by external criteria: sensitivity, specificity, positive-negative predictive criteria, and test-retest reliability. Results. In the DB format, we found a 79% - 89% sensitivity (S) and a 83% - 95% specificity (Sp). In the DR format, a 18% - 35% sensitivity and a 81% - 96% specificity were found. Using both DB-DR formats, we found a 82% - 89% sensitivity and 72% to 91% specificity, and a test-retest reliability .62-1. Discussion and conclusion. The VANEDELA increased its validity parameters with respect to the previous assessment with adequate stability. The DB formats and the DB-DR combination of VANEDELA have an adequate validity based on external criteria, making them suitable for use in primary health care.

Trends in the prevalence of childhood disability: Analysis of data from the national disability registry of Taiwan, 2000–2011

Childhood disability is not uncommon, but data at the national level are limited, especially those on the changes in the prevalence over time. On the basis of the Disabled Welfare Act, Taiwan began to certify disabled residents and provide various services in 1980. All the cases receiving services are registered, and the registry provides a rare opportunity for studying childhood disability at the national level. Using the data from 2000 to 2011, we calculated the age-specific prevalence of all disability combined and assessed the changes over time. We also calculated the prevalence rate and the proportion in all disabilities combined for each disability category and assessed the trends. As certification before 3 years old is generally discouraged by the government, we limited analyses to children between 3 and 17 years old. We found that the registered cases ranged from 49,242 to 61,717 from 2000 to 2011 and that intellectual disability (ID), had been the leading category all through the years. The proportion of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) had been increasing rapidly and become the third leading disability in 2011. The prevalence of all disabilities combined increased constantly from 9.98/1000 to 15.41/1000 (p<0.01), and increases were generally observed every year in all age groups (p<0.01). The increase could largely be attributable to the increases in ID and ASD, while the increasing trends were also significant in "multiple disabilities," "speech or language impairment," and "other disabilities listed by the Department of Health" (p<0.01 for all the five categories). An increase with age in the prevalence of all disabilities combined could be observed all through the years (p<0.01 in all calendar years). We concluded that the prevalence of childhood disability has been increasing in Taiwan, with ID contributing the most cases and ASD as an emerging problem. However, the increase of prevalence cannot be attributed entirely to the increase in the occurrence of cases, and an increase in the proportion of cases registered was an more important factor, which may be in turn attributable to a better service of the related agencies, lower discrimination against the patients, higher awareness of the disorder, and more willingness of the guardians to register.

Establishing the foundations for an inclusive education system in Iraq: reflection on findings from a nationwide survey

This paper reports a national study on the prevalence of childhood disability designed to inform initiatives promoting improved school attendance by children with disabilities in Iraq. The study was commissioned by UNICEF, coordinated by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, and designed by academics in the UK in consultation with Iraqi academics and professionals. The mixed methods study included a major household survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups across four of Iraq's 18 governorates (Erbil, Baghdad, Najaf and Basra). An initial scoping study collected background data through interviews, site-visits and document analysis, establishing the context and informing the design of the main study. In this paper, we provide an overview of the educational context in Iraq, data on school attendance and disability among children aged 6–18 years, and the perspectives and vision for education in Iraq verbalised by key stakeholders. This research provides insights into current patterns of school attendance, and considers some of the implications for inclusive education in Iraq. We conclude by discussing the potential for implementation of Iraqi policy initiatives to impact on the rights of disabled people within education and wider social provision.

Children with Disabilities: Introducing the Issue

This issue of The Future of Children explores childhood disability--its prevalence, nature, treatment, and consequences. With unprecedented numbers of U.S. children now being identified as having special medical and educational needs and with the nation's resources for addressing those needs increasingly constrained, the topic is timely. Public discussion of childhood disability, by the media, parents, scholars, and advocates alike, tends to emphasize particular causes of disability, such as autism, asthma, cystic fibrosis, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this volume, however, we focus not on individual disabilities, but rather on cross-cutting themes that apply more broadly to the issue of children with disabilities. To this end, we commissioned a group of experts to review research on childhood disability, including its definition (itself a challenge), its prevalence and trends over time (likewise), and the costs it imposes both on the individual child and on the child's family. Our contributors also consider disability within the context of the nation's educational, health insurance, and medical systems; the impact of emerging technologies on the experience of disability; and the definition of health care quality. The volume concludes with a discussion of the prevention of childhood disability. Themes of the Volume Out of the research presented in this volume, five broad themes emerge. These themes are related to defining and measuring disability; trends in disability; the growing importance of mental relative to physical health; the importance of families; and the fragmentation of services for children with disabilities. Defining Disability and Other Measurement Issues First, it is remarkably difficult to point to a consensus definition of disability. In the opening article of the issue Neal Halfon and Kandyce Larson, both of the University of California-Los Angeles, and Paul Newacheck and Amy Houtrow, both of the University of California-San Francisco, make the case for a definition that highlights the relationship between health, functioning, and the environment. Specifically, the authors propose that a disability be defined as an environmentally contextualized health-related limitation in a child's existing or emergent capacity to perform developmentally appropriate activities and participate, as desired, in society. Defining disability as a limitation rather than a health condition per se highlights the social and technological context of the individual. In a world with electric wheelchairs, for example, a child with impaired mobility will be less disabled than he or she would be otherwise. It follows then that home and school environments can shape disability and that new technologies can either mitigate or exacerbate disability, as Paul Wise, of Stanford University, discusses in his article on the role of technology. The definition proposed by Halfon, Houtrow, Larson, and Newacheck also emphasizes that disability exists along a continuum and varies across children's ages and functional domains. Until now empirical work on the prevalence of childhood disability has been based on a variety of simpler and more concrete definitions. National surveys that collect information about childhood disabilities, for example, generally ask questions about limitations on activities of daily living; they also usually classify children as disabled if they are receiving services for their limitations. Although the logic behind this latter definition is apparent, it can mean that the number of children counted as having disabilities may expand or contract along with the provision of services. In a similarly problematic way, expanding the number of children with disabilities who are covered by insurance may increase the number of children who have been diagnosed with a particular condition without actually changing the number who suffer from the condition. …

A Call to Action for Social Work: Minimizing Financial Hardship for Families of Children with Special Health Care Needs

The social and economic burden of long-term illness and chronic conditions is not equitably distributed: Most people have moderate health care needs, and the personal cost of meeting these needs is correspondingly affordable. For a minority of the population, the reverse is also true; for example, research has affirmed the association between poverty and disability (Emerson & Hatton, 2008; Lustig & Strauser, 2007; U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). Among families caring for children with disabilities (that is, those with functional limitations in one or more domains), the social and economic burden of the child's special health care needs is significant (Bauman, Silver, & Stein, 2006; Boyle, Decoufle, & Yearginallsopp, 1994; Meyers, Lukemeyer, & Smeeding, 1998; Parish & Cloud, 2006; Parish, Cloud, Huh, 8: Henning, 2005; Robbins, Dollard, Armstrong, Kutash, & Vergon, 2008). Social work has an important role to play in promoting social and economic justice for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and their families. In this National Health Line, we present a call to action for social workers and identify specific strategies that the profession can encourage at the policy and practice levels to promote social and economic justice for CSHCN and their families. The relationship between poverty and disability is complex; there is ample evidence that social risk factors, including low income, negatively affect children's health. Family poverty places a child at risk for adverse life experience resulting from environmental factors such as hunger and poor housing stock, factors that negatively affect multiple outcomes, including health (Bauman et al., 2006). Children living in poor households are more likely to have health problems, including chronic conditions and mental health disorders (Bauman et al., 2006; Ganz & Tendulkar, 2006; Parish et al., 2005; Robbins et al., 2008). The elevated prevalence of childhood disability among poor children supports the view that poverty and disability are linked (Fujiura & Yamaki, 2000; Perrin et al., 2007). Of U.S. households raising children with special health care needs, 41.2 percent have family income at or below 199 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, n.d.). The causal associations between childhood disability, poverty, and family financial hardship are complex and multifactorial. For example, one factor that affects family financial hardship is the effect that a child's disability has on a parent's ability to work. Families of children with disabilities report higher out-of-pocket expenditures and reduced maternal employment compared with other families (Lukemeyer, Meyers, & Smeeding, 2000). As additional research is conducted to explicate these causal pathways, policy and practice solutions are urgently needed to assist families who are currently caught in the downward cycle of cumulative disadvantage over the life course (Kasper et al., 2008). The financial impact of raising a child with a special health care need manifests in three domains: higher health care costs, higher routine expenses, and loss of employment income. Effective solutions to these three general problem areas must encompass universal access to comprehensive coverage; this coverage must provide an adequate range and depth of health care benefits for children with chronic illness or disability and flexible financing for family supports. With these mechanisms in place, all three pathways to financial hardship--higher health care costs, higher routine expenses, and loss of employment income--can be circumvented. Although health reform is becoming a reality at the national level, the policy initiatives that result in improvements to the current system will still likely be implemented through existing state systems, at least in the foreseeable future. …

Prevalence of childhood disability and the characteristics and circumstances of disabled children in the UK: secondary analysis of the Family Resources Survey

BackgroundRobust data on the prevalence of childhood disability and the circumstances and characteristics of disabled children is crucial to understanding the relationship between impairment and social disadvantage. It is also crucial for public policy development aimed at reducing the prevalence of childhood disability and providing appropriate and timely service provision. This paper reports prevalence rates for childhood disability in the United Kingdom (UK) and describes the social and household circumstances of disabled children, comparing these where appropriate to those of non-disabled children.MethodsData were generated from secondary analysis of the Family Resources Survey, a national UK cross-sectional survey, (2004/5) which had data on 16,012 children aged 0-18 years. Children were defined as disabled if they met the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) definition (1995 and 2005). Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations were run to establish prevalence estimates, and describe the circumstances of disabled children. To establish the association between individual social and material factors and childhood disability when other factors were controlled for, logistic regression models were fitted on the dependent variable 'DDA defined disability'.Results7.3% (CI 6.9, 7.7) of UK children were reported by as disabled according to the DDA definition. Patterns of disability differed between sexes with boys having a higher rate overall and more likely than girls to experience difficulties with physical coordination; memory, concentration and learning; communication. Disabled children lived in different personal situations from their non-disabled counterparts, and were more likely to live with low-income, deprivation, debt and poor housing. This was particularly the case for disabled children from black/minority ethnic/mixed parentage groups and lone-parent households. Childhood disability was associated with lone parenthood and parental disability and these associations persisted when social disadvantage was controlled for.ConclusionThese analyses suggest that UK disabled children experience higher levels of poverty and personal and social disadvantage than other children. Further research is required to establish accurate prevalence estimates of childhood disability among different black and minority ethnic groups and to understand the associations between childhood disability and lone parenthood and the higher rates of sibling and parental disability in households with disabled children.

Disabled children in the UK: a quality assessment of quantitative data sources

The limitations of reliable and accessible UK national and local quantitative data on the prevalence of childhood disability and the characteristics and circumstances of disabled children and their households have been recognized for some time. This paper reports the findings from a study that scoped and quality-assessed existing quantitative UK national and regional data sets on disabled children and their families. A comprehensive search of relevant data sources with information on disabled children was undertaken. Data sources were evaluated with reference to: disability definitions and questions; potential to generate nationally representative prevalence estimates of disabled children; study design; population coverage; sampling issues; social and demographic data; appropriateness for identifying childhood as opposed to adult disability. Thirty-seven data sources with information on childhood disability were identified, of which 30 met the inclusion criteria: nine cross-sectional surveys, nine longitudinal and panel studies, seven administrative data sets, four specific condition databases and one was another type. Definitions and questions varied across data sources. Long-standing illness and limiting long-standing illness were the most consistently used definitions. Repeated cross-sectional surveys were found to be most appropriate for estimating overall prevalence but, with the exception of the Population Census, sample sizes were too small to study prevalence and characteristics by some population sub-groups such, including age by year, minority ethnic status and socio-economic position. Few data sources included questions appropriate for identifying childhood as opposed to adult disability or collected information from disabled children themselves. Our findings summarize the currently available quantitative data sources on childhood disability and highlight the limitations. We make recommendations for the future development of more robust childhood disability data and issues requiring further research. To assist policy makers and service providers to make use of current data sources we have produced a brief online guide based on our findings.