Determinants of State of Mental Health among Caregivers of Children with Disabilities

This study aimed to determine the association and predictive capacities of job satisfaction,workplace stress,work motivation,and self-esteem on state of mental health of caregivers of children with disabilities in South-West Nigeria.The self-determination theory provided a theoretical framework for the study.A closed-ended paper-pencil questionnaire tagged‘Mental Healthiness Scale for Caregivers’was used for data collection from 241 care-givers of children with disabilities.Data collected was analyzed using descriptive of frequency count,simple per-centage and mean as well as inferential statistics involving Pearson product moment correlation and Binary Logistic Regression at 95%confidence interval.Findings revealed a significant but inverse association between self-esteem,workplace stress and mental health.Work motivation had a direct association with mental health while job satisfaction had no significant association with mental health of caregivers of children with disabilities.Caregivers(18–40 years)had the highest odds for mental health concerns.Lowered self-esteem and workplace stress increased mental health concerns while job satisfaction significantly predicted a higher likelihood for posi-tive state of mental health among caregivers of children with disabilities.

Meta-analysis on the effectiveness of parent education for children with disabilities

BACKGROUND Parents of children with disabilities often have difficulty understanding their child’s behavior and are unable to do it appropriately because they do not know what to do.The more we properly understand children with disabilities,the more positive the importance of parent education becomes in various aspects.AIM To demonstrate the effectiveness of parent education for children with disabilities in various aspects and present it as evidence that can be used clinically.METHODS For a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of parent education for children with disabilities,literature was collected from 2002 to 2022 using PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,Directory of Open Access Journals,and Europe PMC.Search terms were“disabled children,”“disabled children,”“parent education,”“parent training,”and“parent coaching.”The final searched literature included a total of 11 articles.To calculate the effect size,the mean,standard deviation,and sample size of the experimental and control groups were analyzed,and a meta-analysis was performed using RevMan version 5.4.1.To analyze statistical heterogeneity,a chi-square test was performed to evaluate the significance of Q statistics to indicate statistical heterogeneity.RESULTS The final literature totaled 11 articles,and a total of 4 items were analyzed.There were 5 studies on parental depression,the heterogeneity was 98%,and the effect size for parental depression was 0.35[confidence interval(CI:0.30-0.40)],indicating a small but statistically significant effect size.There were 4 studies on parenting attitude,the heterogeneity was 100%,the effect size on parenting attitude was 0.41(CI:0.37-0.46),which was a medium effect size,and the P value showed a statistically significant score.Additionally,face-to-face parent education was found to have a larger effect size than non-face-to-face education.Regarding parent education methods,face-to-face parent education had a medium effect size[0.57(CI:0.52-0.61)],while non-face-to-face parent education had a small effect size[0.23(CI:0.18-0.28)].CONCLUSION Parental education has shown high effectiveness in child development,and it has proven to be even more effective when face-to-face parenting education is conducted.Accordingly,more effective and objective data was presented.Based on this study,it is believed that parent education research applying various diagnostic groups should continue to be conducted.

Assessment of Quality of Life, Family Function and Family Empowerment for Families Who Provide Home Care for a Child with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities in Japan

Background: About 70% of Japanese children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) live at home, and the number is increasing. Family members have an enormous burden of daily physical care for these children. A top priority is to understand quality of life (QoL), family function, and family empowerment to effectively support these families. We aimed to assess current living situations of families with a SMID child, and to reveal the relationships between QoL, family function, and family empowerment. Methods: Sixty-five family members from 34 families with a SMID child participated in this study. We assessed 5 parameters using the Japanese versions of the following instruments: World Health Organization Quality of Life 26 (WHOQOL26), Kinder Lebensqualitats Fragebogen (KINDL), Family Assessment Device (FAD), Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale KG-4 (FACESKG-4), and Family Empowerment Scale (FES). Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted;QoL score was the objective variable. Results: Participants included 54 parents (34 mothers, 20 fathers) and 11 siblings. The mean age of SMID children was 10.4 ± 5.03 years. Twenty-two children needed multiple types of medical care. The mean age of parents and siblings was 41.5 ± 6.16 years and 15.5 ± 2.35 years, respectively. The mean QoL score (3.28 ± 0.5) was similar to the Japanese average. The mean KINDL score (77.2 ± 12.1) was higher than those of previous studies. The mean FAD score was 1.97 ± 0.32. For FACEKG-4, the score of adaptability was correlated with WHOQOL score (r = 0.459, p < 0.05). The mean score of FES was 113.6 ± 14. As the result of multiple regression analysis, lower family FAD scores ([sb] = ?0.61, p < 0.01) indicated higher family function and greater age of participants (sb = 0.495, p < 0.01) was correlated with higher WHOQOL scores (F = 15.208, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our results indicated that the individual QoL depended on the age of participants (equals the years of experience caring for a SMID child) and the recognition of family function as a whole. Thus, to improve family members’ QoL, we should focus on individuals and also approach the family as a whole.

International Comparative Study on Education Laws of the Persons with Disabilities: An Observation on Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities

The issue of education for people with disabilities has become of increasing concern. How can we effectively guarantee the basic right to education for persons with disabilities? Will the revised Regulation on Education for Persons with Disabilities meet their needs? This article takes the Regulation on Education for Persons with Disabilities as the core and compares it with the related special educational laws of the United States, Britain and Japan. The following conclusions were drawn from this study: In terms of educational concept, the three countries follow the concept of inclusive education, and pursue equity and educational justice. They not only pay attention to inclusive education but also focus on improving the quality of education for students with disabilities. All three countries focus on accommodating children with special needs, but each implements its programs in a different way. These practices can be used as reference for the development of a special needs education law in China.

STUDY ON THE CHALLENGES AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES TO REHABILITATION IN CHINA

Obtaining effective rehabilitation and gaining access to full development services are fundamental for children with disabilities to fully participate in society and achieve social inclusion. A disabled child＇s right to rehabilitation is specially protected by law in China and internationally. Chinese law specifically provides that the State shall ensure the enjoyment of the right of children with disabilities to rehabilitation services. This study shows that in the last five years, the rehabilitation services for children with disabilities are generally improved. But due to the incomplete protection mechanism, the right of children with disabilities to rehabilitation still could not be fully realized. This article concludes that the rehabilitation situation of children with disabilities in China presents the general feature of lacking of opportunities and structural imbalance. The Chinese government should take more responsibility to improve the rehabilitation system for children with disabilities. Specifically, the Chinese government should undertake the obligations as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to provide rehabilitation services for all children with disabilities. To ensure the effective implementation of the right of children with different disabilities in different areas, China shall improve the rehabilitation legal system, establish an urban-rural integral rehabilitation system, enlarge financial invest and increase professional level of rehabilitation staff.

Inclusive Playgrounds:A Reality or a Utopia in Our Cities?

The culture of inclusion needs to be continuously promoted,supported,strengthened and tested to remove the barriers and deficiencies still present in the built environment around us.Do the play areas in parks,gardens and squares offer real opportunities for persons with different abilities to play and have fun?Do they promote the principle of integration and create opportunities for inclusion?To answer these questions,an audit tool has been developed to assess the inclusivity of outdoor play areas in the central and suburban areas of our cities.The key elements of the evaluation focus on the physical environment of the playground and are grouped in three thematic areas:physical and sense-perception accessibility;accessibility to the experience and participation and socialisation.Although children’s right to play is now recognised and there is much talk of inclusion,application of the tool to an Italian city has shown that the right to play is not fully and satisfactorily applied.Inclusive playgrounds are still not frequent enough and a new approach to their design is needed.