The perception of disability by community groups: Stories of local understanding, beliefs and challenges in a rural part of Kenya
The perception of disability by community groups: Stories of local understanding, beliefs and challenges in a rural part of Kenya
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0182214
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发表时间：
2017-08-03
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Hartley, Sally
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bunning, Karen;Gona, Joseph K.;Hartley, Sally
过去几十年来，关于残疾的文化叙事受到了广泛关注。在贫困、信息有限以及与拥有或照顾残疾人有关的日常挑战的背景下，出现了不同的理解。在肯尼亚的一个农村地区设立了一个项目，通过反思和教育的方式，提高社区居民对残疾问题的认识。本文报告的是第一个方面--反思。目的是调查当地对残疾作为一个共同构建的概念的理解。研究问题为：1.什么样的文化信仰塑造了当地对残疾的理解？2.哪些挑战被认为与残疾有关？采用了现象学的方法。与21个社区团体进行了重点小组讨论，涉及263名参与者，并进行了录音。对数据进行了转录，并进行了专题分析。在确定最终结论之前，绘制了直观地图，以说明任何相互联系。当地人认为，残疾的原因是：人类违反社会习俗，特别是违反不适当的家庭关系，这是一种诅咒;影响儿童的超自然力量;上帝的意志;无法解释的事件;以及生物医学因素。与残疾有关的挑战涉及到抚养的负担和被认为的融入障碍，而压力是一种共同的副产品。在肯尼亚的这一农村地区，当地对残疾的理解表现出重叠的解释和多元化的信念。有两种可能的解释。第一，解释线之间的波动表明不稳定，影响了对残疾的更广泛接受。其次，更积极的是，在面对挑战时，人们希望理解现有的情况，这反映了一种健康的多元化。
Cultural narratives on disability have received much attention over the past few decades. In contexts of poverty, limited information and everyday challenges associated with having, or caring for someone with a disability, different understandings have emerged. A project was set up to promote disability awareness in neighborhood communities in a rural part of Kenya, using a process of reflection and education. This paper reports on the first aspect - reflection. The aim was to investigate local understanding of disability as a co-constructed concept. The research questions were: 1. What cultural beliefs shape local understanding of disability? 2. What challenges are perceived to be associated with disability? A phenomenological approach was adopted. Focus group discussions were conducted with twenty-one community groups involving 263 participants and audio-recorded. The data were transcribed and thematic analysis was carried out. Visual maps were created to illustrate any interconnections, before establishing the final conclusions. Local beliefs attributed disability to: human transgression of social conventions, particularly concerning inappropriate family relations, which invoked a curse; supernatural forces affecting the child; the will of God; unexplained events; and biomedical factors. Challenges associated with disability related to the burden of caregiving and perceived barriers to inclusion, with stress as a shared bi-product. Local understanding of disability in this rural part of Kenya demonstrated overlapping explanations and plurality of beliefs. Two possible interpretations are offered. Firstly, oscillation between explanatory lines demonstrated instability, affecting broader acceptance of disability. Secondly, and more positively, in the face of challenges, the desire to make sense of the existing situation, reflected a healthy pluralism.