Research at LSHTM covers a vast number of diverse subjects in international health, with projects in every corner of the world.
You can read research reports below. You can also sample peer-reviewed publications from members of ICED.
Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment
Background
This project explores Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment for young people in seven countries in Africa; Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda.
This was a disability-inclusive research partnership. The research was guided by Advisory Groups, comprising youth with disabilities in Uganda and Ghana. Researchers with disabilities were part of each country team.
Photo credit: MasterCard Foundation
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Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Study details and reports
Background
The research was conducted in partnership with ICED, Mastercard Foundation, the University of Abuja, the University of Ghana, Lifetime Consulting Ltd, Addis Ababa University, University of Nairobi, Global Advocacy and Research Group and MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Group. It was funded by Mastercard Foundation.
Resources available: Reports and Film
Phase 1 explored the policy landscape, through interviews with key stakeholders and document review. Reports are available here:
In phase 2, we conducted interviews with young people with disabilities to explore their experiences, challenges, opportunities and aspirations. Reports are available here:
Summary reports are also available here.
A film was created with young people with disabilities who participated in the study. The film showcases the research findings and is available here.
Watch our end-of-project webinar!
We held a webinar on the 5th March 2024 to present key learnings from research exploring access to education and employment for youth with disabilities in seven African countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana.
Speakers included:
- John Ganle, University of Ghana
- Femke Banink Mbazzi, Twalib Ayub and Charles Okello MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
- Rasak Adekoyo, University of Abuja
- Emily Nyariki, University of Nairobi
- Sarah Polack, ICED LSHTM
Please click here to watch the recording.
For more information, please contact Sarah Polack (Sarah.Polack@lshtm.ac.uk) and Shaffa Hameed (Shaffa.Hameed@lshtm.ac.uk).
Research reports
- Disability-inclusive response to COVID-19
- Translating disability-inclusive WASH policies into practice: lessons from Cambodia and Bangladesh: Study details and reports
Background
One in seven people around the world has disabilities, and the majority live in low- and middle-income countries. Many lack access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services or have poor-quality access. Countries have progressed in tackling discriminatory WASH legal frameworks, but implementing policy commitments to inclusive WASH remains challenging.
There have been few efforts to evaluate or document national policies on disability-inclusive WASH and none directed toward systematic learning to draw together experiences from different countries, derive elements of best practices and identify gaps in service provision.
The study
This is a collaborative study between the LSHTM and WaterAid, funded by the Australian Government’s Water for Women Fund. It aims to improve disability-inclusive WASH policymaking in low and middle-income countries through policy and practice guidance for governments wishing to mainstream disability-inclusive WASH at scale. Using Cambodia and Bangladesh as case studies, we answered these research questions:
- How do Cambodia and Bangladesh’s national WASH policy and guidance incorporate disability?
- To what extent do sub-national government officials and service providers implement these commitments to disability inclusion?
- How does this implementation impact the WASH experiences of people with disabilities and their caregivers?
Resources available
This poster gives an overview of the study.
We conducted a policy analysis of Cambodia and Bangladesh’s WASH policies and guidance documents to explore the inclusion of disability. We published a journal article and an accessible briefing note that summarised the article.
We carried out qualitative research in Cambodia and Bangladesh that explored the implementation of commitments to disability inclusion in national policies at the sub-national level. This journal article captures our research in Cambodia, which is summarised in this briefing note. We worked with Epic Arts (an inclusive arts organisation based in Cambodia that uses art to empower and bring people with disabilities together) to develop a performance and two short films about the findings related to 'independence' and 'caregivers'.
We wrote a research report capturing findings from Bangladesh, which is supplemented by this poster.
We produced the Disability-Inclusive WASH Checklist for government officials and service providers to support the meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities and caregivers in national policies, guidance documents, and interventions. The Disability-Inclusive WASH Checklist is based on our study findings and co-developed recommendations. Three films introduce the checklist, give an overview of it and show how to complete it. Each film has transcripts (film 1, film 2, film 3).
Finally, we wrote a Learning Brief, Foundations of success: driving change through successful research collaborations. This brief documents the process the Principal Investigator followed to support and mentor the research team in Cambodia remotely. The Brief captures the strengths and limitations of approaches and learning gained. It includes recommendations for organisations that remotely support non-academics to conduct ethical research in low-and middle-income countries.
For more information, please contact Jane Wilbur (Jane.Wilbur@lshtm.ac.uk).
- The economic costs of exclusion and gains of inclusion of people with disabilities: Evidence from low and middle income countries
- Cataract impact study
People with visual impairment are assumed to experience poorer quality of life and restricted engagement in daily activities but there is little evidence for this from low income countries. There is also a widespread assumption that there is a vicious cycle between poverty and blindness, as poor people are more likely to become blind and blind people are more likely to become poor, but there is little research confirming or refuting this theory.
To address these gaps in knowledge we carried out the cataract impact study in 2005-2006 which assessed the impact of cataract surgery on poverty, activities and health related quality of life in Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines. The study highlighted some key benefits of cataract surgery to a population of older adults in low-income countries after one year.
As it remained unclear whether the benefits of cataract surgery are sustained over time, in 2012 we undertook a six year follow up study in Bangladesh and the Philippines. This has indicated sustained long term benefits of cataract surgery to a population of older adults in low-income countries in terms of household economics, health related quality of life and activities.
- Representation and evaluation of disability in Haiti (Port-au-Prince, 2012)
The three specific objectives of the population-based survey of disability in Haiti were to:
- provide statistically reliable data on disability and people with disabilities in Port-au-Prince (prevalence, reported causes, profile of people with disabilities identified)
- provide a snapshot of the situation for people with disabilities and compare it to a control group without disabilities in order to reveal restrictions on participation and barriers that specifically affect the study population (family environment, living standards, education, employment and health)
- investigate from a qualitative perspective people with disabilities’ difficulties in terms of inclusion, access and social participation. Location The study was carried out in 2012 in 5 districts from the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area: Carrefour, Delmas, Pétionville, Tabarre and Port-au-Prince1.
Read the full report
A journal article was also published following the findings of the study:
- Disability in post-earthquake Haiti: prevalence and inequality in access to services
Danquah L, Polack S, Brus A, Mactaggart I, Houdon CP, Senia P, Gallien P, Kuper H. Disabil Rehabil. 2014 Sep 2:1-8.