Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

Xanthe Hunt, Melissa Bradshaw, Steyn Lodewyk Vogel, Alberto Vasquez Encalada, Shanice Eksteen, Marguerite Schneider, Kelly Chunga and Leslie Swartz
Additional contact information
Xanthe Hunt: Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Melissa Bradshaw: Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Steyn Lodewyk Vogel: Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Alberto Vasquez Encalada: Center for Inclusive Policy, Washington, DC 20005, USA
Shanice Eksteen: Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Marguerite Schneider: Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
Kelly Chunga: Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Leslie Swartz: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: Over the life course, persons with disabilities require a range of supports to be integrated into their communities, to participate in activities that are meaningful and necessary, and to have access, on an equal basis to persons without disabilities, to community living. We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature on community support for persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The main findings of this review concern the following: there are gaps in access to community support for persons with disabilities in LMICs; there are barriers to the provision of such support; formal and informal strategies and interventions for the provision of community support exist across the life cycle and different life domains, but evidence concerning their effectiveness and coverage is limited; and the role of community-based rehabilitation and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in the assessment of needs for, and the development and provision of, community support, needs to be more clearly articulated. Research needs a more robust theory of change models with a focus on evaluating different aspects of complex interventions to allow for effective community support practices to be identified.

Keywords: community support; human support; disability; inclusion; participation; LMIC (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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