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Disability-Specific Associations with Child Health and Functioning

Ko Ling Chan1, Camilla K M Lo2, Frederick K Ho3

  • 1Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. koling.chan@polyu.edu.hk.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|March 23, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Children with disabilities experience poorer health and functioning across multiple domains. Specific disabilities are linked to unique challenges in daily activities, sleep, and behavior, highlighting the need for tailored support.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Disability Studies
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Understanding the health profiles and functional status of children with diverse disabilities is crucial for effective support.
  • Previous research often aggregates disability types, potentially masking specific health and functioning needs.
  • A comprehensive assessment across various disability categories and health outcomes is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the health profile of children with different types of disabilities.
  • To explore disability-specific associations with health and functioning in a large sample.
  • To compare health and functioning between children with and without disabilities.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional school survey conducted in Hong Kong (2016-2017) with 4114 children (aged 6-18).
  • Disabilities categorized into physical, learning/developmental, intellectual, internalizing disorders, and autism spectrum disorder.
  • Assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL), sleep-related QoL, activities of daily living (ADL), emotional, and social functioning.

Main Results:

  • Children with disabilities exhibited poorer physical functioning, HRQoL, emotional, and social functioning compared to peers without disabilities.
  • Physical and intellectual disabilities correlated with greater ADL difficulties.
  • Language impairment and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were linked to reduced sleep-related QoL.
  • Most disabilities negatively impacted HRQoL, while language impairment, ADHD, internalizing disorders, and autism spectrum disorder were associated with increased behavioral difficulties.

Conclusions:

  • Children with disabilities face significant challenges in physical, emotional, and social functioning, as well as quality of life.
  • Disability-specific associations with health outcomes underscore the need for individualized interventions.
  • Findings support targeted resource allocation and the development of tailored support programs for children with disabilities.

Keywords:
autism spectrum disorderchild healthchild physical disabilitieshealth-related quality of lifeintellectual disabilitiesinternalizing disorderslearning and developmental disabilities

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