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Health-related rehabilitation and human rights : analyzing States' obligations under the United Nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

SKEMPES, Dimitrios
STUCKI, Gerold
BICKENBACH, Jerome
August 2014

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This article analyses States' obligations with respect to rehabilitation of health under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Based on internationally accepted standards of human rights law interpretation and drawing extensively on current literature from the field of global health policy, the authors identify the range of governments legal obligations regarding health related rehabilitation across several key human right commitment areas, such as equality and nondiscrimination; progressive realization; international cooperation; participation in policymaking processes; the accessibility, availability, acceptability, and quality of rehabilitation services; privacy and confidentiality; and informed decision making and accountability.To support effective implementation of the Convention, governments need to focus their efforts on all these areas and devise appropriate measures to monitor compliance with human rights principles and standards in rehabilitation policy, service delivery, and organization. This study lays the foundations for a rights-based approach to rehabilitation offering a framework that may assist in the evaluation of national rehabilitation strategies, the development of appropriate indicators and the identification of gaps in the implementation of the Convention

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 96, Issue 1

Perceived Needs Related to Social Participation of People with Leprosy-related Disabilities and other People with Disabilities in Cambodia: A Qualitative Study

HEEREN, Marie-Julie J
KY, Lai
VAN BRAKEL, Wim H
2014

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to describe the similarities and differences in perceived needs related to social participation of persons with leprosy-related disabilities and other persons with disabilities in Cambodia, and to suggest key interventions to promote participation in the community.

 

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. People with leprosy-related disabilities were selected at home during field visits or at the rehabilitation centre for people with leprosy in Phnom Penh. People with locomotor disabilities were selected at the rehabilitation centre for persons with disabilities in Phnom Penh and Prey Veng. A pilot-tested, face-to-face semi-structured interview, with open and closed questions, and focus group discussions were used to investigate the perceived needs related to social and economic participation in the community. The interview was based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model of the WHO.

 

Results: Both groups of people with disabilities struggle with social exclusion in society. People with leprosy-related disabilities, in particular, live below the poverty line of US$ 0.5 per day. Most of the participants lived in rural areas. Participants raised the need for enhanced self-esteem and help in finding jobs. To overcome the difficulty in finding employment, they felt vocational training and microcredit to start businesses, were required.  

 

Conclusions: The study found that both groups of people with disabilities have similar needs to improve participation in social and economic life. Rehabilitation centres provide vocational training and microcredit. Self-help groups have also proven effective in reaching poor people with disabilities in rural areas and improving social participation. The authors suggest that it is best to form multi-disability self-help groups to empower all the affected people and help fight poverty. 

 

 

Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development Journal, Vol 25, No 3

Barriers to sustainable access of children and families to ART centres in rural India : a report on operations research conducted in Maharashtra and Manipur

INDIA HIV/AIDS ALLIANCE
December 2009

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This report identifies barriers that children and families face in accessing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres in rural India. The report also seeks to find solutions to these barriers based on an operations research conducted in Maharashtra Pradesh and Manipur. Operations research objectives: * To build an understanding among policy makers of the barriers faced by children and caregivers accessing ART services in rural communities. * To assess and highlight a basic minimum level of standards for ART centres in terms of adequacy, quality and timeliness of support needed. * To explore opportunities for linkages with state and district level departments and/or local self-governing institutions

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