Childhood disability levels in a village in upper Egypt

Long term physical disability among children and adolescents is a multi-dimensional problem and though the prevalence rate of disability across age groups is higher among elderly, yet, the severity of disability and psychological impacts among adolescents and young adults is much higher. Children < 18 years of age are more than 50% of the population in developing countries, even low disability levels can amount to substantial suffering. To estimate the prevalence of disability among children <18 years age in a village in Upper Egypt, its impact on the child and family life, and describe the patterns of health care seeking behavior. A cross-sectional survey with total coverage of all children 0-18 years old residing in Gahdam village, Upper Egypt "was undertaken in 2001. A child was considered disabled if he/ she was suffering from a disability in one or more of general activities specific for his/ her age or specific activities general for all age groups. Mothers of 3.448 children were interviewed via a semi-structured questionnaire in the screening phase '10 questions questionnaire' standardized instrument. A sub-sample of the disabled children's mothers was subjected to a more detailed questionnaire on disability. 340 children [9.9%] were perceived by their mothers limited by anyway because their disability or health. General disability was the most frequently reported type followed by speech disabilities. Disability was higher in magnitude and severity in males. Psychological burden among children's families ranked the first [66.7%] followed by economic burden, [31.4%] and lastly 15.7% of disabled children's families were suffering from 'physical effort' burden. The type of disability, course and economic burden were all significant predictors in seeking health care. Development screening is essential for early identification of childhood disability