Abstract
Background: Public stigma, or negative community-held beliefs, about children with disabilities (CWDs) often leads to negative outcomes for CWD and their families. This study considers the effectiveness of four community-level interventions to reduce public stigma in two Lusaka, Zambia communities. Methods: This feasibility study describes four community-based interventions to provide education to consider whether perceptions of attitudes and stigma towards CWD changed after implementing four educational interventions. Results: Results revealed that these interventions were achievable. Preliminary multiple regression analyses indicated a significant impact of attending an event on the attitude scale, while no effect on the stigma scale. Presence at multiple anti-stigma events exhibited no effect for the stigma scale, while the attitude scale showed significance. Discussion: This study builds on the limited research available in low-income countries to reduce public stigma towards CWD, with the hope of enhance quality of life for CWD and their families.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1499-1510 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study received funding from the GHR Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Keywords
- children with disabilities
- community education
- community-level intervention
- low- and middle-income country
- public stigma