Behavioral Health
Abubakar Abdallah Kheir
Abstract
Background: People with Disabilities in rural areas have been denied access to basic needs like their urban counterparts, such as health care, food, proper housing, and care, resulting in continuous inequality in access to services and a loss of dignity; this has harmed their mental health. The study's ...
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Background: People with Disabilities in rural areas have been denied access to basic needs like their urban counterparts, such as health care, food, proper housing, and care, resulting in continuous inequality in access to services and a loss of dignity; this has harmed their mental health. The study's overarching goal was to establish a link between an increase in disability cases and poverty levels in rural areas.Methods: The study was carried out in Chakama, Kilifi County, across 40 communities, and data was collected quantitatively with a total of 265 impaired interviewed on their disability status, among other criteria. The findings of the disabled in Chakama were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and pie charts. Snowball sampling was used to choose respondents from Wazee wa mtaa (locally known seniors within a neighborhood of ten households who are considered to know every member of the ten-household neighborhood) and interview disabled.Results: At least 77% of the disabled people interviewed had serious disabilities that prevented them from working. There is a link between increased poverty and the development of serious disabilities such as mobility and vision.Conclusion: Failure to respond to disability needs increases the likelihood of economic degradation and poverty, particularly in marginalized communities; there is a need for collective engagement of society and relevant bodies to ensure disabled have access to prerequisite needs, improve medical services in health facilities in rural areas, and build resilience among disabled to reduce reliance on family and aid.
