Alternative Explanations for Disability: Inspiring patient-centered care among healthcare practitioners through the arts

拟议项目的基础是残疾和包容非洲项目的调查结果，即撒哈拉以南非洲的许多保健从业人员对残疾生活的复杂性知之甚少，而且残疾和包容项目强调的残疾的其他解释也没有得到充分的理解。这些“另类解释”包括假设和误解，医学决定论，以及宗教或超自然信仰。有关残疾的讨论通常是由医学专业人员、社会科学家或发展机构创造的，最常见的是在全球北部，与残疾人的日常现实相去甚远。这些话语被嵌入撒哈拉以南非洲地区的医疗体系和实践中，那里的重点主要是治疗特定的医疗条件或残疾，而不是采取更全面的以患者为中心的方法，认识到信仰和态度对残疾人的更广泛影响。这一后续项目采用应用戏剧和创造性写作，以刺激对话和反思，以加强医疗从业者对撒哈拉以南非洲地区残疾经历的理解。将在尼日利亚、喀麦隆和南非举办由戏剧和创作从业者推动的一系列讲习班，将残疾人和保健从业者聚集在一起，思考在当代撒哈拉以南非洲残疾意味着什么。在研讨会讨论和成果的基础上，项目小组将与残疾人组织和医护人员培训师合作，为医护人员开发持续专业发展资源。通过提高卫生专业人员对这些替代解释的影响的认识，该项目旨在向他们的实践提供信息，并鼓励采取更以患者为中心的方法。

The proposed project builds on the finding of the Disability and Inclusion Africa (DIA) project that many health practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa have little understanding of the complexity of living with disability and that the alternative explanations for disability highlighted by the DIA project are not sufficiently understood. These 'alternative explanations' include assumptions and misconceptions, medical determinist, and religious or supernatural beliefs.Discourses of disability are often created by medical professionals, social scientists or development agencies, and most often in the global north, quite removed from the daily realities of disabled persons. These discourses are embedded into healthcare systems and practices in sub-Saharan African contexts, where the focus is primarily on treating the specific medical condition or disability, rather than taking a more holistic patient-centered approach which recognizes the wider impact of beliefs and attitudes on disabled persons.This follow-on project engages applied theatre and creative writing to stimulate dialogue and reflection to enhance healthcare practitioners' understandings of the experience of being disabled in sub-Saharan African contexts. A series of workshops facilitated by theatre and creative writing practitioners will be held in Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa, bringing together disabled persons and healthcare practitioners to reflect on what it means to be disabled in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on the workshop discussions and outputs, the project team will work with Disabled Persons Organizations and trainers of healthcare practitioners to develop a Continuing Professional Development Resource for healthcare practitioners.By increasing awareness of the impact of these alternative explanations among health professionals, the project aims to inform their practice and inspire a more patient-centered approach.