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

拟议的项目以非洲残疾和包容项目的发现为基础，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，对残疾和包容项目强调的残疾的其他解释也没有充分了解。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。关于残疾的论述往往是由医疗专业人员、社会科学家或发展机构创造的，而且往往是在全球北方，完全脱离了残疾人的日常现实。这些话语被纳入撒哈拉以南非洲地区的卫生保健系统和实践中，重点主要放在治疗特定的医疗状况或残疾上，而不是采取更全面的以患者为中心的方法，这种方法认识到信仰和态度对残疾人的更广泛影响。这个后续项目涉及应用戏剧和创意写作，以激发对话和反思，以加强保健从业人员对撒哈拉以南非洲环境中残疾人经历的理解。将在尼日利亚、喀麦隆和南非举办一系列由戏剧和创意写作从业人员提供便利的讲习班，将残疾人和保健从业人员聚集在一起，思考当代撒哈拉以南非洲的残疾人意味着什么。根据讲习班的讨论和产出，项目小组将与残疾人组织和医疗保健从业人员的培训人员合作，为医疗保健从业人员开发一个持续专业发展资源。通过提高卫生专业人员对这些替代解释的影响的认识，该项目旨在为他们的实践提供信息，并激发一种更加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.