AUTHOR=Yuh Mirabel Nain , Ndum Okwen Gloria Akah , Miong Rigobert Hanny Pambe , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , Kong Jude Dzevela , Movahedi Nia Zahra , Kinlabel Tetamiyaka Tezok , Patrick Mbah Okwen 

TITLE=Using an innovative family-centered evidence toolkit to improve the livelihood of people with disabilities in Bamenda (Cameroon): a mixed-method study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1190722

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1190722

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Most of disability-related scholarly literature has focused on high-income countries, whereas there is a lack of data concerning challenges (barriers and obstacles), and opportunities (participatory research and community engagement) in the global south. Moreover, most frameworks for interventions on people with disabilities (PWDs) have been designed for resourcerich contexts, and little is known about their translatability to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).The main objective was to design and pilot an interventional approach based on an innovative framework aimed at improving the livelihood of PWDs in LMICs.The present mixed-method study was conducted in Bamenda, North West Region of Cameroon, through an intervention of household visits by community health workers using innovation and best practices informed by a systematic literature review and embedded into an evidence toolkit called the eBASE Family-Centered Evidence Toolkit for Disabilities (EFCETD), adapted from the WHO matrix and consisting of 43 questions across five categories (health, education, social wellbeing, empowerment, and livelihood). Out of 56 PWDs identified, 30 were randomly sampled, with an attrition of four participants. Three datasets (baseline, qualitative, and quantitative) were collected. The Washington group tool, exploring the type of disability, gender, how long one has had the disability, their facility situation coupled with their coping strategies, and the context of livelihood, was used to design the questionnaire for baseline data collection.Geospatial data was collected using Magpi and WhatsApp. Qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions analyzed with MAXQDA, while quantitative data was collected through the EFCETD, and analyzed by means of descriptive statistics.Results: 69.2% of PWDs were females. Most PWDs were aged 10-20 years (57% of the sample size). Physical/motor disability was the most common type of disability recorded (84.6%). The mean percentile for education increased from 29.9% during the first visit to 70.2% during the last visit, while the mean percentile for health increased from 65.4% to 78.7% and the mean percentile for social wellbeing moved from 73.1% to 84.9%. The livelihood and the empowerment standards increased from 16.3% to 37.2%, and from 27.7% to 65.8%, respectively.