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Resource utilization by children with developmental disabilities in Kenya: discrepancy analysis of parents'
N Kagendo Mutua1, Janice Williams Miller, Mwarumba Mwavita
1College of Education, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487-0232, USA. kmutua@bamaed.ua.edu
Insights
Parents in Kenya perceive most resources as congruent with the needs of children with developmental disabilities. However, educational programs and employment services show significant discrepancies, indicating underutilization.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Disabilities
- Parental Perceptions
- Resource Accessibility
Background:
- Understanding resource availability is crucial for supporting children with developmental disabilities.
- Parental perspectives offer unique insights into the effectiveness of support systems.
- Previous research has identified key physical and human resources relevant to this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe parental perceptions of eight key resources for children with developmental disabilities in Kenya.
- To assess the discrepancy between the importance parents place on resources and their expected use.
Main Methods:
- Discrepancy analysis of parents' expectation-to-importance appraisals for eight identified resources.
- Chi-square analyses were used to examine gender differences.
- Resources included health, education, friendships, marital relationships, religious organizations, community acceptance, employment, and housing.
Main Results:
- Overall, parental appraisals of resource importance and expected use were significantly related across all eight areas.
- Congruence (match between importance and expected use) was reported for health, friendships, religious affiliation, community acceptance, and housing.
- Significant noncongruence was found for educational programs and employment/career services, suggesting underutilization.
Conclusions:
- While many resources are perceived as adequate, significant gaps exist in educational and employment support for children with developmental disabilities in Kenya.
- Addressing these discrepancies is vital for improving the overall well-being and integration of children with developmental disabilities.
- Further investigation into the specific barriers preventing congruent use of educational and employment resources is warranted.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to describe parental perceptions of eight physical and human resources available to meet the needs of children with developmental disabilities in Kenya. Specifically, the study assessed the discrepancy between the importance parents attached to specified resources and the expected use of those resources by their children with developmental disabilities. Discrepancy analysis was conducted on parents' expectation-to-importance appraisals of eight resources identified in previous research including, health, education, friendships, husband/wife, religious organization, community membership/acceptance, employment/work, and home. Overall, parental appraisal of likely access-to-importance was significantly related across all eight physical and human resource areas. Discrepancy scores ranged from negative, through zero, to positive, categorized underutilized, congruent, and over-utilized, respectively. Chi-square analyses were non-significant for gender across all resources with only slight gender differences noted on three resources. Most parents reported a match between expected use and importance in five of the eight community resources, health (57.4%), friends (54.6%), religious affiliation (59.8%), acceptance in the community (60.3%), and having one's own home (62.6%). However, "husband/wife" fell outside the congruent range (50.4%), with slight gender differences noted. Finally, two resource areas where the majority of parents reported noncongruence were educational programs and employment/career service.