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Disability and global health: Special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

KUPER, Hannah
POLAK, Sarah
Eds
2019

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Papers included in this special issue are:

 

Missing millions: How older people with disabilities are excluded from humanitarian response

SHEPPARD, Phillip
POLACK, Sarah
McGIVERN, Madeleine
July 2018

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The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of older people with disabilities across a range of humanitarian settings, considering:

  • whether older people with disabilities have additional needs and challenges accessing humanitarian assistance and protection
  • what factors facilitate or limit access by older people with disabilities to humanitarian assistance and protection
  • to what extent is humanitarian response inclusive of older people with disabilities

A systematic literature review of published studies was conducted. Key online humanitarian guidelines were explored to review how far they explicitly address older people with disabilities. Data from six population-based disability surveys comparing the living situation of older people with and without disabilities were analysed. These included databases from two crises-affected populations in Haiti (post-earthquake) and Palestine. Data from four non-humanitarian settings was also reviewed to explore more broadly the situation for older people with disabilities – India, Guatemala, Cameroon and Nepal. Interviews were held with older people with disabilities, members of their families and local key informants in two conflict-affected populations in Ndutu and Mtendeli refugee camps in Western Tanzania, and Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine to find out about their experiences. Staff of five international agencies working in humanitarian response were also interviewed. 

 

Findings highlight particular issues facing older people with disabilities in humanitarian crises: more risk escaping from danger;  barriers to accessing social protection and work; barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services; barriers to accessing food and other essentials; unsuitable housing and poor living conditions;  insecurity and discrimination; threats to dignity and independence; social isolation and loneliness; risks to mental health; and missing from humanitarian response.

 

A table brings together the findings from the different components of the research to show the needs, risks, barriers and enablers for older people with disabilities identified in the research. Recommendations are provided to humanitarian donors, policy makers and practitioners

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2016, Vol. 3 No. 2

2016

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Articles include:

  • Towards a ‘mind map’ for evaluative thinking in Community Based Rehabilitation: reflections and learning
  • Participation of persons with disabilities in political activities in Cameroon
  • The medical inadmissibility of intellectual disability: A Postcolonial reading of Canadian immigration systems
  • Research principles and research experiences: critical reflection on conducting a PhD dissertation on global health and disability
  • Contingencias normalizadoras en la relación Discapacidad–Trabajo en Francia y Uruguay

Tools for the journey from North to South: A collaborative process to develop reflexive global mental health practice

SUFFLING, Kate
COCKBURN, Lynn
EDWARDS, Kimberly
2014

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ICDR-Cameroon is a group working on disability and inclusion issues in Cameroon. Through their mental health work, various complex social, ethical, and relational issues have been encountered and the need arose to engage in a reflexive process that would integrate shared experiences, the broader discourse on global mental health, and other resources. The group participated in discussion, story sharing, research, and critical analysis, a process from which a document called ‘Tools for the Journey’ was created as a road map for the group’s work. The document includes a position statement outlining the group’s stance on various issues, in addition to additional resources. This paper describes the group’s reflexive process in creating Tools for the Journey, the benefits of this process in terms of group and individual understanding and development, and the challenging themes encountered in their work in Cameroon.

 

Disability and the Global South, 2014, Vol. 1 No. 2

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