Abstract:

This presentation described a recently completed study in 500 rural Cambodian households where there was a child with a disability. Children could have physical, mental and/or sensory disabilities.  The purpose of the study was to gain a clearer understanding of the functional status of the children, and also to learn how families perceived and used relevant health and educational services.  An additional 500 neighboring households where there was not a child with a disability were also surveyed to obtain additional information about how community members viewed the health system and their perceptions of people with disabilities. Implications for strategies to improve the participation and quality of life for children with disabilities and their families in Cambodia will be discussed.

Speaker:

Dr. Betsy VanLeit
Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
She has extensive experience administering community-based rehabilitation programs for people with disabilities as well as health promotion programs for the general population. Most recently she spent a year in Cambodia, doing a study of children with disabilities and developing projects to minimize and prevent unnecessary disability in children in rural areas.

Related Materials:

Secondary Prevention of Disabilities in the Cambodian Provinces of Siem Reap and Takeo: Perceptions of and use of the health system to address health conditions associated with disability in children
Report prepared for Handicap International Belgium
[PDF 1.3MB]
By Betsy VanLeit, Prum Rithy, Samol Channa
February 28, 2007

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