DISABILITY: TYPES,
CAUSES, PREVENTION
AND MANAGEMENT
OUTLINE
•Introduction
•Types of Disability
•Causes of Disability
•Prevention
•Management of Disability
•Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
What is Disability?
Disability is an evolving concept
The World Health Organization currently defines Disability as the
umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation
restrictions.
This definition stresses that disability results from the interaction
between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental
barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an
equal basis with others.
Defining disability as an interaction means that “disability” is not an
attribute of the person. Progress on improving social participation can
be made by addressing the barriers which hinder persons with disabilities
in their day to day lives.
INTRODUCTION CONTD.
Some Important Definitions include:
Impairments: These are problems in
body function or alterations in body
structure – for example, paralysis or
blindness;
Activity limitations: These are difficulties
in executing activities – for example,
walking or eating;
Participation restrictions: Problems with
involvement in any area of life – for
example, facing discrimination in
employment or transportation.
INTRODUCTION
Some Disability Figures of note:
The World Heallth Organisation has
found that over 1 billion people world
wide experience disability. This means 1
in 7 people globally.
Prevalence of disability in Nigeria at
3.2% according to the National Baseline
Survey on Persons with Disabilities in
Nigeria.
the Global Burden of Disease estimates
the number of children aged 0–14 years
experiencing “moderate or severe
disability” at 93 million (5.1%), with 13
million (0.7%) children experiencing
severe difficulties
TYPES/ CLASSIFICATION OF
DISABILITY
There are so many methods of classifying Disability- Physical and Mental,
Visible and Invisible, etc.
Each country seems to have its own classification to suit its own local
circumstances.
This has made comparison of literature on disability somewhat difficult.
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and
Health(ICF) is the most current method of classifying disability. It adopts
neutral language and does not distinguish between the type and cause
of disability – for instance, between “physical” and “mental” health.
TYPES/ CLASSIFICATION
Below is an adaptation of the classification used for the National Baseline Survey on
Disability, 2011
Visual Impairment
Hearing Impairment
Speech Impairment
Physical Impairment- (Quite Wide-ranging)
Learning Disabilities
Intellectual Disability
Mental illness -Schizophrenia, Mania, Depression
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Albinism - Colour Abnormality
Specific Disorders/ Others e.g Cerebra Palsy,
Multiple disabilities
CAUSES
The concept of Disability is constantly evolving.
Historically, the understanding of the causes of Disability has gone through several stages,
viz:
1. The Supernatural Model: for several centuries it was believed that anyone in a
society who did not conform to the accepted picture of normalcy was cursed or afflicted
with demons. Sadly, or Nigerian societies and indeed most of Africa is still at this stage.
2. The Medical Model: with modernization, diseases and medical disorders were soon
indicted in causing disability.
3. The Social Model: in the late 50s and 60s, it was postulated that individuals were
disabled by their environments.
4. The Medico-Psycho-Social Model: this model accepts that there are various factors
that contribute to disability.
The National Baseline Survey on Disability 2011 conducted in Nigeria showed that the most
common causes of disability in Nigeria were found to be illness, followed by accidents, then
congenital causes and judicial process. This shows that the top causes of disability in
Nigeria are largely preventable.
CAUSES
Congenital or Acquired
Congenital: these are mostly due to genetic disorders or unknown events occurring
during pregnancy. Examples include: Downs Syndrome, Klinefelters
Syndrome,Autism
Acquired:
Perinatal causes include: hypoxia or anoxia- oxygen starvation of the baby during
labour. The major cause of this is prolonged labour and fetal distress. This causes
Infections: like meningitis, malaria, measles, syphilis, trachoma, can cause insult
to the growing brain and other tissues
Trauma: e.g physical trauma to the child during delivery, road traffic accidents
Nutritional: deficiencies of Vitamin A and Protein/ Energy malnutrition
Metabolic: Phenylketonuria, Diabetes
Iatrogenic: due to drug reactions e.g Hearing loss following gentamycin injections.
Non Communicable Diseases and Neoplasia( cancers)
PREVENTION
Primary prevention – actions to avoid or remove the cause of a health
problem in an individual or a population before it arises. It includes
health promotion and specific protection (for example, wearing of seat
belts, health education, antenatal care and delivery by skilled
medical personnel, environmental sanitation)
Secondary prevention – actions to detect a health problem at an early
stage in an individual or a population, facilitating cure, or reducing or
preventing spread, or reducing or preventing its long-term effects (for
example, premarital screening for genotype, early infant screening and
diagnosis)
Tertiary prevention – actions to reduce the impact of an already
established disease by restoring function and reducing disease related
complications (for example, physiotherapy for children with cerebral
palsy).
MANAGEMENT
Habilitation/ Rehabilitation:
1. Medical rehabilitation: Involves medical management of sequelae
e.g treating seizures, infections, psychological/psychiatric care for
mental illnesses and behavioural disorders,
2. Physical rehabilitation: involves physiotherapy, provision of
prosthesis for missing limbs, corrective surgeries for malformations
3. Educational Rehabilitation: learning sign language for the hearing
and speech impaired, braille for the visually impaired
4. Occupational/ Vocational Rehabilitation: Training the individual to
acquire new skill sets that he can utilize to earn a living
5. Social Rehabilitation: involves integrating the individual into the
society and helping them to live as independently as possible. E.g,
provision of assistive devices e.g wheel chairs, guide canes, joining
support groups, creating accessible public facilities
CONCLUSION
Disability occurs through the interaction of impairment and
environmental factors
There are several types of disability. Some children present with more
than one type.
Some causes of disability are preventable while others are not.
Just like any other child, proper habilitation/ rehabilitation of the child
with disability will produce an adult with a brighter future.
THANK YOU!