Collaborative Approaches to the Support of People with Disabilities: The Underserved and Unserved.

BACKGROUND: Underserved and unserved people are individuals who lack necessary health services. They can be found in both high- and low-income countries with disabilities in areas such as speech, language, hearing, swallowing, physical, and neurological, as well as other health problems. In addition, academic programs that prepare students to serve underserved or unserved communities do not exist in some countries. Collaborative projects allow those with expertise to share their knowledge, strategies, methods, and technologies with health practitioners, administrators, educators, students, and families. The goal is to assist populations who require special services. Collaborative projects can be interdisciplinary, international, or involve academic institutions or organizations. It is also essential that collaboration projects consider the strengths and assets that are present in the environment and in the population. This asset-based approach supports sustainability as long-term solutions can take advantage of existing strengths. Sustainability is essential so that the goals of projects can continue to contribute to a population. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this article is to present collaborative projects that positively impact underserved and unserved populations. The strengths of these projects are also presented as a model for further work. SUMMARY: This article presents several collaborative projects, along with the impact of these efforts.

Struggling to be seen and heard: the underserved and unserved populations.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to provide some current information on the topic of the underserved and unserved populations including modern-day slaves, stateless/displaced persons, refugees/migrants and indigenous populations. METHOD: Speech-language pathology education and services for the underserved as well as unserved populations are discussed. Three case studies which demonstrate knowledge transfer and exchange as potential models for future development are presented. CONCLUSION: These case studies lead to more inquiries, studies, innovations and involvement from individuals and groups who are concerned about the underserved and unserved populations.

Knowledge transfer between minority and majority world settings and its application to the World Report on Disability.

The purpose of this paper is to provide commentary on the article entitled Changing practice: Implications of the World Report on Disability for responding to communication disability in underserved populations (Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, & Marshall, 2013). It discusses the need to develop innovative ways to provide more services to the populations in need. Further, it offers two examples that demonstrate knowledge transfer and exchange between Minority and Majority World settings and one example of using technology for service delivery and training that might shed some light on possible solutions.

Emerging issues in health and education in Asia-Pacific: a focus on speech-language pathology.

The purpose of this paper is to present some emerging issues in health and education in the Asia-Pacific region. Special attention will be given to the education of speech-language pathologists (SLP) and to service provision for the people with communicative disorders whenever possible. Information on the education of SLP in Asia-Pacific is not easy to gather because of the geographical distances between areas, language differences in the data compiled and the lack of consistent collaboration and information exchanges. In this article, a case study from Singapore is also presented. Implications for clinical services and education are discussed at the end of this paper.

Communication in the migrant community in Malta.

AIMS: The study aimed to obtain information about communication in the migrant community in Malta. The objectives were to identify the communication skills of the migrants in terms of language use and exposure; to verify whether members of the migrant community have access to participation, education, socialization and opportunities for gainful employment, and to identify if the migrant community is willing to share insights. METHOD: A questionnaire was specifically devised to collect data via structured interviews. The project targeted candidates seeking refugee status. Forty immigrants consented to participate and were interviewed with the help of interpreters and carers. RESULTS: Results indicate that migrants seem to experience different levels of adaptation and assimilation into the host cultural and social network. Some feel marginalized, while others seem to be adjusting to the new culture; these individuals also reported minimal to no difficulties with communicating with the local people. Communication among themselves was reported to be difficult for some, even though most of the migrants hailed from North Africa. CONCLUSION: The study provides an overview of challenges identified and highlights the need for service providers to identify cultural and linguistic characteristics to optimize their interpretation of behaviour.