ABSTRACT
In a population-based survey in a defined area in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, the prevalence of six types of childhood disabilities was sought. All children aged 2-9 years who screened positive for disability, with 8 per cent of children screening negative (out of a total of 5,468 children), were assessed by a physician and a psychologist. Disabilities were categorised by types and levels of severity. The estimated prevalence rate for all types and levels of disabilities was 93.9 per 1,000 children and for serious disability was 24.9 per 1,000. The rates for specific disabilities showed wide variation (cognitive, 81/1,000; speech, 14/1,000; visual, 11/1,000; hearing, 9/1,000; motor, 4/1,000; seizure, 2/1000). Of the disabled children, 70 per cent had only one disability, 23 per cent had two and 6 per cent had three or four disabilities. If disability is to be seen as a major outcome of a range of interacting factors, then these prevalence rates, taken with the specific aetiologies, would provide a framework for planning preventive and rehabilitative interventions.
Subject(s)
Disabled Persons , Disability Evaluation , Rehabilitation , Rural Population , Seizures/epidemiology , Speech Disorders/epidemiology , Vision Disorders/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Cognition Disorders/epidemiology , Hearing Disorders/epidemiology , Jamaica , Motor SkillsABSTRACT
The devlopments in the field of childhood disability in the English-speaking Caribbean are reviewed with recent information on prevalence, needs in services, early intervention and low cost, community-based services. These developments make the possibility of providing coverage in services much more optimistic than it was 10 years ago. Needs in training, research and dissemination of information to appropriate agencies and organisations are suggested