Perceptions of disability among caregivers of children with disabilities in Nicaragua: Implications for future opportunities and health care access

Author(s)

  • Matt Susan B.

Reference

Matt, S. B. (Fall, 2014). Perceptions of disability among caregivers of children with disabilities in Nicaragua : Implications for future opportunities and health care access. Disability Studies Quarterly, 34 (4), 17 pp.

Applied research areas

Thematic issues

Impairment

Geographical areas

Author's summary

This study focused on caregivers’ perceptions of their children’s disabilities, their aspirations for their son or daughter’s future, and the extent to which they sought rehabilitation and health services. The study reports the findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with 13 caregivers of children who had a variety of disabilities and were between 2 and 23 years of age. Although there were some lingering superstitious and religious-based explanations for the disability, most caregivers described biomedical explanations. However, caring for a person with a disability was seen as something that would be rewarded by God and praying was frequently viewed as having curative properties.

Practical barriers to accessing services included lack of information about where services were located and how to access services and transportation costs. Overall, the authors found that in Nicaragua, many individuals with disabilities lacked access to education and medical care and that families are often ashamed and therefore hide their children with disabilities from the public. However, when children were provided with educational services and when their parents received education and training, parents had a better understanding of their child’s disability and were able to think in terms of their child’s potential.

Resource Center comment

This article was chosen based its location in Nicaragua, Central America and is in close proximity to El Salvador. We also chose it because of its focus on caregiver perceptions. The authors employed qualitative methodology to understand caregivers’ perceptions of their son or daughter’s disability. Although the study is limited by a relatively small sample size, it was one of the studies most closely related to the purpose of this project.

The study directly addressed several issues relevant to the CRPD, specifically: the right to education (Article 24) and health (Article 25) services, accessibility (Article 9), full and effective participation and inclusion, and equality of opportunity (Article 5).

From a practical standpoint, findings were particularly salient with respect to better understanding the challenge of providing services to children and families. The article concluded with recommendations for the way in which services are needed.

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