Cross-national study of communal attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa: Cameroon vs. Ghana

Abstract

Background An intellectual disability (ID) is characterized by a deficit in the functional, cognitive, and adaptive skills required for independent living. Due to the low cognitive capabilities of individuals with IDs, they have become victims of marginalization, exclusion, and denial of their fundamental rights to basic necessities in societies around the world. While efforts are being made to improve service provision to and acceptance of individuals with disabilities, the extent of communal acceptance and recognition of these individuals as equal members of society remains underexplored in sub-Saharan African countries such as Cameroon and Ghana. Objective As attitudes toward individuals with IDs are pivotal in shaping national policies, this cross-national study examined communal attitudes toward persons with IDs in Cameroon and Ghana. Method The Community Living Attitude Scale for Intellectual Disabilities (CLAS-ID) was used to collect data from a total of 741 university students in the two countries. The validity of the scale was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis and principal component analysis. The association between the background variables and attitudes was examined using t-tests, analysis of variance, linear regression, and two-way factor analysis. Results The results showed the validity of the CLAS-ID as a valid tool for measuring communal attitudes toward individuals with IDs in sub-Saharan Africa. The participants appeared ambivalent about attitude towards individuals with ID and other findings showed no association between attitudes and variables such as gender, relation, and contact with individuals with IDs. Conclusion We discuss the need for innovative approaches aimed at changing attitudes toward individuals with IDs in sub-Saharan Africa as well as other study implications.

Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

“…In Ethiopia, nearly all hospitals are ill-prepared for potential disaster strikes. Despite gains in South Africa’s health system, the majority of hospitals did not have a dedicated disaster plan training program or had educated their new staff about the institution’s disaster plan [ 1 , 4 , 53 , 54 ].…”

“…Irrespective of their economic status, across the SSA countries, there are no well-developed hospitals in this region. Accordingly, access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in SSA remains poor and varies substantially within and between countries [ 32 , 35 , 47 , 54 ].…”

“…Besides, disaster medicine was long neglected in Ethiopia as the focus of medical education has been largely clinically oriented. Therefore, the insufficient number of healthcare professionals without adequate training related to disasters and the lack of delivery systems to address practical health problems caused by the impacts of disaster are clear evidence of the ill-prepared situations in the SSA countries to cope and adapt strategies to improve effectively [ 2 , 4 , 41 , 54 ].…”

“…As a result, health outcomes tend to correlate with donor support. Successful application of improving policy frameworks, training provisions to raise awareness, and improvements on frameworks for information exchange and best practice dissemination across SSA will help close the gap and address the barriers to the successful implementation of adequate coping and adaptation strategies [ 51 , 54 , 67 ].…”

Variables que influyen en las actitudes hacia las personas con discapacidad

“…Esta comparación ha revelado algunos datos relevantes, los cuales observamos cuando se preguntaba si las personas con discapacidad se entienden sin problemas con sus compañeros y compañeras de trabajo, donde puntuaron mejor quienes no tienen contacto con personas con discapacidad. Esta es una afirmación que puede ser asumida en otros casos sin poner en el centro la discapacidad, dado que en el ambiente laboral no siempre hay entendimiento y, a veces, las personas con discapacidad sufren cierta exclusión por parte de sus compañeros, sobre todo en el caso de las personas con discapacidad intelectual como señalanOpoku et al (2021).En la subescala referida al reconocimiento o negación de derechos de las personas con discapacidad, las personas en contacto con ellas han obtenido una puntuación media inferior a las que no lo tienen. Quizá esto pueda reflejar que aún no se han alcanzado todos los derechos posibles de las personas con discapacidad, y probablemente conozcan mejor esta realidad aquellas personas que tienen contacto con personas con discapacidad que las que no.…”