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Comprehensive support for pupils at risk of school failure in inclusive education: theory and school practice in the Czech Republic

SLOWÍK, Josef
GAŽÁKOVÁ, Eva
HOLEČEK, Václav
ZACHOVÁ, Markéta
2021

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The paper presents possibilities of comprehensive use of support tools for pupils at risk of school failure in the Czech primary schools practice in order to support the implementation of inclusive education. The research data obtained during the project implemented in the Pilsen region in period of 2016–2019 brought the results of assessment of new support tools that are not yet systemically introduced in the Czech educational system and commonly available for all schools, although these instruments seem to be very effective or even necessary for quality inclusive education. The most important new tools include the position of inclusion coordinator in schools, strengthening the counselling services available directly in schools, as well as new strategies for promotion of cooperation between the schools, families, and social services – including some specific techniques, such as parenting workshops on child support in education, case conferences with child’s participation or seminars for parents and teachers on collaboration with social services. However, the exploitation of the results of this research and assessment will depend largely on political decisions at both local and governmental levels.

Reducing albinism related stigma in Tanzania: an exploration of the impact of radio drama and radio interview

DE GROOT, T M M
VELDMAN, M
JACQUET, W
PETERS, R M H
VANWING, T
MEURS, P
2021

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Reducing stigma is key to improving the wellbeing of people with albinism in Tanzania. This study aimed to obtain more insight into the effects of two radio interventions with regard to albinism-related stigma: a radio drama and a radio interview. Assessment of the radio interventions was based on two attitude measurement instruments (The Albinism Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue Community Stigma Scale and the Albinism Social Distance Scale), an entertainment scale, and two informal (group) interviews. In total, 111 community members participated in the assessment prior to the radio drama, and 65 after. In the case of the radio interview, 123 community members participated in the assessment prior to the radio show, and 77 after. Following the radio drama, a significant reduction was found in terms of community stigma, and a reduction in social distance was found after both interventions. The entertainment score for both interventions was high, but significantly higher for the radio drama. The respondents indicated that they had gained more understanding of albinism as a result of the interventions, and were positive about this type of education. The current study shows that a radio show in which the listener interacts with someone with albinism can contribute to a reduction in stigma, and demonstrates that different types of radio intervention can have different outcomes.

Training of Mid-Level Rehabilitation Workers for Community-Based Rehabilitation Programmes

GHOSH, R
PALANIVELU, V
TEBBUTT, E
DEEPAK, S
2021

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Purpose: There is a lack of trained rehabilitation professionals, especially in the small towns and rural areas of low and middle income countries. In India, a cadre of mid-level rehabilitation workers, the Rehabilitation Therapy Assistants (RTAs), are being trained by Mobility India, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). This paper aims to assess impact of their training and experiences after the training.

 

Method: Data were collected from 3 different initiatives connected with the trained RTAs: an impact assessment of their training; interviews with RTAs during an evaluation; and a survey of 188 RTAs trained between 2002 and 2019.

 

Results: RTAs were shown to have good skills to provide rehabilitation interventions in the field and are appreciated by clients and other stakeholders. Most of the RTAs work for NGOs in CBR programmes, and in private hospitals and clinics. There does not seem to be a role for them in government services in most countries. The number of trained RTAs remains small in spite of the large needs. This may be due to lack of an accreditation system for RTAs and the low priority given to rehabilitation services in general in some countries.

 

Conclusions: The results provide useful information to strengthen RTA training courses. Training RTAs to provide rehabilitation services in smaller towns and rural areas of low and middle income countries can have a good impact through CBR programmes. However, this impact remains circumscribed to small areas where NGOs are active. Changes are needed in health systems for the inclusion of mid-level rehabilitation workers in primary health care services.

Individualised Funding: A Realist Analysis to Identify the Causal Factors That Facilitate Positive Outcomes

FLEMING, Padraic
McGILLOWAY, Sinead
THOMAS, Steve
2021

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There is growing interest, internationally, in empowering people with disabilities, and the United Nations have identified individualised funding as one way in which empowerment might be achieved. ‘Individualised funding’ is an umbrella term for various publicly funded support structures that provide personalised and individualised support services for people with a disability. These aim to facilitate self-direction, empowerment, independence, and self-determination. The findings of a recent mixed-methods systematic review of studies undertaken during an approximate 25-year period suggest positive effects with respect to quality of life, client satisfaction, and safety, as well as very few adverse effects, although the evidence on cost-effectiveness was inconclusive. This paper involved a re-examination of the qualitative findings of that review by employing a realist framework to explore the interplay between key contexts and mechanisms, and how these facilitate or inhibit positive outcomes associated with individualised funding and its underlying programme theory.

Cognitive behaviour therapy-based early intervention and prevention programme for anxiety in South African children with visual impairments

VISAGIE, Lisa
LOXTON, Helene
SWARTZ, Leslie
STALLARD, Paul
2021

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Background: Anxiety is the most common psychological difficulty reported by youth worldwide and may also be a significant problem for children with visual impairments. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) interventions have proven to be successful in treating childhood anxiety; however, mostly these are not suitable for children with visual impairments, as the materials used are not sufficiently accessible to this population.

 

Objectives: The present study was motivated by the dearth of research on this topic and aimed to examine the effects of a specifically tailored, group-based, universally delivered, CBT intervention for anxiety in children with visual impairments and to examine the influence of three predictor variables (i.e. age, gender and level of visual impairment) on prevention effects.

 

Method: A randomised wait-list control group design with pre-, post- and follow-up intervention measures was employed. The final sample of 52 children (aged 9–14) with varying degrees of visual impairment received the anxiety intervention. Participants were followed over a course of 10 months during which their anxiety symptoms were assessed quantitatively at four time points (T1–T4).

 

Results: The results indicated that the anxiety intervention did not significantly decrease symptoms of anxiety within the intervention groups. However, the intervention appeared beneficial for girls, younger children and legally blind participants.

 

Conclusion: This study demonstrated how CBT interventions can be adapted for use in children with visual impairments. Results obtained provide a foundation upon which future updated anxiety intervention programmes can be built, meeting the need for further research in this area.

Economic assessment of a community-based care package for people with lower limb disorder caused by lymphatic filariasis, podoconiosis and leprosy in Ethiopia

HOUNSOME, Natalia
KINFE, Mersha
SEMRAU, Maya
ALI, Oumer
TESFAYE, Abraham
MENGISTE, Asrat
BREMNER, Stephen
AHMED, Abdulkadir
FEKADU, Abebaw
DAVEY, Gail
December 2020

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We conducted an implementation research study to integrate a holistic package of physical health, mental health and psychosocial care for podoconiosis, lymphatic filariasis and leprosy into routine healthcare in Gusha cluster, Guagusa Shikudad district, northwest Ethiopia. The healthcare package included training patients in lower limb hygiene and skin care and provision of shoes, hygiene supplies and medication. The implementation activities included training events, workshops, awareness raising, self-help groups, supportive supervision, staff secondments and advisory board meeting. 

 

Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 114, Issue 12, December 2020, Pages 1021–1034

https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/traa111
 

Preliminary experiences in acute occupational therapy for in-patients with coronavirus-19 (COVID-19): leveraging assistive technology in three case studies of male veterans

RICH, Tonya
HICKS, Brandon
DAHL, Abigail
SULLIVAN, Elle
BARRETT, Benjamin
BEDORE, Beau
2020

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Purpose:

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 with millions of cases reported globally in the succeeding months. Initial hospitalisation strives to minimise multisystem organ failure and of those that survive, individuals can present with profound rehabilitation needs. The purpose of this case series is to describe occupational therapy (OT) and special technology considerations for three male Veteran patients hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. 

 

Methods: 

This is a descriptive case series using a retrospective electronic health record review at a Veterans Administration hospital. The case series includes three male Veterans with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 (ages 69–78) who were referred to OT. The cases were selected to demonstrate the novel use of technology and strategies to reduce the risk of transmission. In two of three of our cases, we describe acute rehabilitation with a focus on activity tolerance, participation in occupations, and discharge planning. In all cases, we measured vital signs and activity tolerance as primary outcomes. 

 

Results and conclusions: 

The findings suggest that outcome measures focussing on activity tolerance to maintain stable vital signs during the recovery phase is central to the progression of activities. We observed in our cases that the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model can guide practice and complement the medical model in management of these patients. We utilised technology to engage family members in the rehabilitation care and minimise exposure risks.

Moral distress and ethical decision-making of eldercare professionals involved in digital service transformation

FRENNERT, Susanne
2020

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Aim

Technology affects almost all aspects of modern eldercare. Ensuring ethical decision-making is essential as eldercare becomes more digital; each decision affects a patient’s life, self-esteem, health and wellness.

 

Methods

We conducted a survey and interviews with eldercare professionals to better understand the behavioural ethics and decision making involved in the digital transition of eldercare.

 

Conclusion

Our qualitative analysis showed three recurrent roles among eldercare professionals in regard to digital service transformation; makers, implementers and maintainers. All three encountered challenging and stressful ethical dilemmas due to uncertainty and a lack of control. The matter of power relations, the attempts to standardize digital solutions and the conflict between cost efficiency and if digital care solutions add value for patients, all caused moral dilemmas for eldercare professionals. The findings suggest a need for organizational infrastructure that promotes ethical conduct and behaviour, ethics training and access to related resources.

Increasingly consulted, but not yet participating: IDA global survey report on participation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY ALLIANCE (IDA)
November 2020

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This new report presents the findings of the first-ever global survey led by OPDs on their participation in decision making processes of governments, the UN system and funding agencies.

The IDA Global Survey is part of a strategy to hold decision-makers accountable for their commitments under Articles 4.3 and 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Based on testimonies collected from OPDs in 165 counties, the report assesses the quality, depth, scope and relevance of the OPDs participation in programmes and policies, and offers recommendations for governments, the UN system and funding agencies.

Excluded from the Excluded: People with Intellectual Disabilities in (and out of) Official Development Assistance

Inclusion International
2020

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This report from Inclusion International analyzes data available through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s Creditor Reporting System (CRS), which reveals that mainstream development projects fail to include people with intellectual disabilities, and in many cases use project methodologies that promote segregation and other human rights violations.

 

Analysis of ODA data from 2014 to 2018 found that 99.98% of ODA funding did not include people with intellectual disabilities, that 36% of the ODA projects that did include people with intellectual disabilities were not CRPD-compliant, and that only 2% of aid relevant to people with intellectual disabilities and their families was delivered through OPDs.

 

This report urges action from donors to ensure that the commitment to disability-inclusive development under Article 32 of the CRPD is also fulfilled for people with intellectual disabilities, and sets out recommendations for funders to ensure CRPD-compliance and inclusion in the projects they support.

Funding ≠ Inclusion: Segregation and CRPD Non-Compliance in Official Development Assistance

Inclusion International
November 2020

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This two-page summary resource compiles key data on the CRPD-compliance of Official Development Assistance (ODA)-funded programmes. This analysis was originally published in Inclusion International's 2020 report, Excluded from the Excluded, which revealed that 36% of projects that included people with intellectual disabilities in 2018 used methodologies that promoted segregation.

 

This summary resource profiles key data on the CRPD compliance of ODA-funded programme methodologies by thematic area - including livelihoods, education, emergency response, and service provision programmes. The summary resource also shares key recommendations for organizations implementing programmes to ensure CRPD-compliance.

No one left behind? Exclusion of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Official Development Assistance

Inclusion International
November 2020

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This one-page factsheet presents key data from Inclusion International's 2020 report "Excluded from the Excluded," which revealed that people with intellectual disabilities are excluded from 99.98% of Official Development Assistance (ODA)-funded programmes. The factsheet also shares key recommendations for funders to ensure that no one is left behind by ODA funding.

Action on COVID-19 Evidence on the Response of Disabled People’s Organisations during Pandemic

ADD International
October 2020

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In June 2020, ADD International conducted structured interviews with leaders from ten Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) which are participating in the Inclusion Works programme in three districts in Bangladesh to understand impact of and response to Covid-19 among DPOs.

 

Evidence from these interviews suggest that the economic impact of Covid-19 on persons with disabilities has been acute, and DPOs are taking critical action. DPOs are engaging with power holders to make relief, livelihood support and information accessible to persons with disabilities. DPOs are in touch with their members, but they face barriers in doing their work during this time, and more could be done to reach the most excluded.

Measure It Super Simple (MISS) activity tracker: (re)design of a user-friendly interface and evaluation of experiences in daily life

UMMELS, Darcy
BRAUN, Susy
STEVENS, An
BEEKMAN, Emmylou
BEURSKENS, Anna
2020

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Purpose

The purposes of this study were, first, to (re)design the user-interface of the activity tracker known as the MOX with the help of input from elderly individuals living independently and, second, to assess the use of and experiences with the adapted Measure It Super Simple (MISS) activity tracker in daily life.

 

Methods

The double diamond method, which was used to (re)design the user-interface, consists of four phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver. As a departure point, this study used a list of general design requirements that facilitate the development of technology for the elderly. Usage and experiences were assessed through interviews after elderly individuals had used the activity tracker for 2 weeks.

 

Results

In co-creation with thirty-five elderly individuals (65 to 89-years-old) the design, feedback system, and application were further developed into a user-friendly interface: the Measure It Super Simple (MISS) activity. Twenty-eight elderly individuals (65 to 78-years-old) reported that they found the MISS activity easy to use, needed limited help when setting the tracker up, and required limited assistance when using it during their daily lives.

 

Conclusions

This study offers a generic structured methodology and a list of design requirements to adapt the interface of an existing activity tracker consistent with the skills and needs of the elderly. The MISS activity seemed to be successfully (re)designed, like the elderly who participated in this pilot study reported that anyone should be able to use it.

Multifaceted interventions show limited impact on community participation among adults with disabilities

GROSS, Judith
MONROE-GULICK, Amalia
DAVIDSON-GIBBS, Debbie
NYE, Chad
June 2020

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This Campbell systematic review and meta-analysis examines the impact of multifaceted interventions on community participation outcomes for adults with disabilities, and aims to find effective components of the interventions. The review summarizes the findings from 15 reports of multifaceted interventions in five countries (USA, China, Germany, Italy, Australia) with the majority from USA (10).

Included studies employ at least two interventions designed to address two or more participant characteristics (e.g., skill enhancement, behavior/attitude change) and/or environmental characteristics (e.g., participant interactions with people, places, or things) resulting in outcomes that provide direct access to the community (e.g., competitive employment, adult learning, housing) or are a dimension of community participation (e.g., self-determination, quality of life, social networking).

A total of 15 studies using a multifaceted intervention were included in this review. Of these, nine were randomized and six were quasi-experimental. Study participants were adults, 18 years or older, with a disability, who had exited secondary school services. Participants identified as having the following disabilities: intellectual disability, mental illness, traumatic brain injury, aging-related disabilities (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer’s, reduction in activities of daily living), or combinations of two or more classifications.

 

Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2020;16:e1092.

https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1092

Contingent Electric Shock as a Treatment for Challenging Behavior for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Support for the IASSIDD Policy Statement Opposing Its Use

ZARCONE, Jennifer R
MULLANE, Michael P
LANGDON, Peter E
BROWN, Ivan
2020

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Issues: The International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) is an international group of researchers, clinicians, students, parents, and self-advocates that promotes worldwide research and exchange of information on intellectual and developmental disabilities. IASSIDD recently developed a policy statement regarding their opposition to the use of contingent electric skin shock (CESS) with individuals with challenging behavior and intellectual and developmental disabilities. To support the policy, the available literature was reviewed to evaluate the efficacy, side effects, generalization, and long-term effectiveness of the procedure as an intervention for challenging behavior.


Findings: The review provides a history that demonstrates that, although CESS can decrease the frequency of challenging behavior, it comes at a cost in terms of physical and emotional side effects, and questions remain regarding the long-term effectiveness of the procedure. In addition, we raise several ethical and methodological issues that make the research on the use of CESS even more concerning.


Conclusions: Although research continues in some countries, these studies are now rare. In fact, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has just banned the use of such devices with individuals with self-injury and aggression. It is hoped that, because there are many other forms of treatment that have shown to be effective for severe challenging behavior, we can completely avoid the use of CESS.

COVID-19 and Humanitarian Crisis

2020

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A COVID-19 Humanitarian platform to gather, curate, analyze, interpret and disseminate COVID-19-specific and -sensitive interventions that are being implemented in a variety of humanitarian settings.

The goal is to facilitate the sharing of context-specific field experiences about how humanitarian programs are responding to and being adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. This website will host both technical guidelines as well as operational field experiences from humanitarian actors in different settings.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Evidence Collection

EVIDENCE AID
2020

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The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is leading to a rapidly expanding and evolving literature. Evidence Aid is preparing summaries of relevant research, which are available below in English with links to translations in other languages. 

 

  • Clinical characterization and management
  • Epidemiology
  • Ethical considerations
  • Health systems and services
  • Infection prevention and control, including health care workers’ protection
  • Public health interventions
  • Research & Development: Therapeutics and Vaccines
  • Social science in the response

COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor

2020

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Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from taking place.

 

With the endorsements of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr Dainius Pūras, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar, a coalition of six disability rights organisations is today launching a major international monitoring initiative entitled “COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor” to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning persons with disabilities. The first element of this global initiative is the launch of two surveys requesting official information from governments and requesting the testimonies of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations. The surveys aim to collect information about what states are doing to protect core rights of persons with disabilities including the rights to life, access to health and essential services.

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