Poverty and musculoskeletal impairment in Rwanda

Abstract

The recently adopted UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities acknowledges the need to address social exclusion and poverty of persons with disabilities. However, policy makers, especially in low-income countries, often lack information about the socioeconomic situation of this vulnerable group of society. This study aimed to assess the association between poverty and musculoskeletal impairment (MSI) in Rwanda. A nationwide population-based matched case-control study was undertaken in Rwanda. Data were collected on education, literacy, employment, household expenditure and assets for 345 cases and 532 matched controls. Conditional logistic regression was performed, and the results indicated that adults with MSI in Rwanda are more likely to have no employment (odds ratio (OR)=3.3, 95% CI 2.1-5.2) while children with MSI are less likely to attend school (OR=0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.9). Cases with MSI are disadvantaged vis-à-vis housing conditions and household size, potentially indicating crowding. However, cases with MSI were not poorer than controls in terms of assets or expenditure. These data suggest that increased efforts should be undertaken in Rwanda in order to ensure that children with disabilities are included in schools and that adults with disabilities can find appropriate employment opportunities.

Chronic haematogenous osteomyelitis in children

“…3 A recent survey of the orthopaedic needs of children in Rwanda suggested that 3% were suffering from a musculoskeletal impairment due to infection. 4,5 Nearly two billion children under the age of 18 live in developing countries, and 400 million in the least-developed countries, compared to only 200 million in industrialised countries. 6 If the prevalence of musculoskeletal impairment due to infection across the leastdeveloped countries is similar to that in Rwanda, in these countries alone approximately 12 million children are affected.…”

Making poverty reduction inclusive: Experiences from Cambodia, Tanzania and Vietnam

“…Disability can also have a direct impact on employment opportunities: a study undertaken in Sri Lanka in 2001 identified that 90% of persons with disabilities were unemployed (Tudawe, 2001). Another study in Rwanda showed that adults with musculoskeletal impairment were considerably more likely not to be employed than nonimpaired adults (Rischewski, 2008a). In India, research established that the employment rate of male adults with disabilities was considerably lower than of male adults without disabilities (Mitra and Sambamoorthi, 2008).…”

Disability and poverty in Sri Lanka: a household level analysis

“…Poverty when measured by household expenditure suggests that probability of being poor is higher with disability (Mont & Viet Cuong, 2011;Filmer 2008;Hoogeveen, 2005). However, Rischewski et al (2008) do not find any significant relationship between monetary poverty and disability.…”

“…The literature shows that disabled persons are less employed (Trani and Loeb, 2012;World Bank, 2009;Mete, 2008;Mitra and Sambamoorthi, 2009;Hoogeveen, 2005), and attain lower education (Mont and Viet Cuong, 2011;Trani and Loeb, 2012;World Bank, 2009;Mete, 2008;Rischewski et al, 2008;Hoogeveen, 2005). Furthermore, Palmer et al (2012) and World Bank (2009) find that households with disabled persons own less assets compared to other households, while Trani and Loeb (2012) suggest that there is no such a relationship.…”