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What stigma and unmet needs do Ethiopian caregivers report?

Tilahun D, Hanlon C, Fekadu A, et al. · BMC health services research · 2016

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Among 102 Addis Ababa caregivers of children with ID or autism, about 43–45% reported differential treatment or shame, stigma was higher with traditional help-seeking, and 74.5% said educational provision was their biggest unmet need.

Study at a glance

Design
Cross-sectional — Facility-based interviewer-administered survey of caregivers at two child mental health clinics in Addis Ababa
N
N=102 · 102 caregivers; 68 children with intellectual disability (66.7%) and 34 with ASD (33.3%)
Population
Caregivers of children with developmental disorders attending clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Outcome
Stigma (Family Interview Schedule), explanatory models, unmet needs, and coping

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Key findings

43.1% worried about being treated differently, 45.1% felt ashamed, 26.7% hid the condition. Stigma was unrelated to diagnosis/age/education (all p > 0.05) but higher if caregivers sought traditional help (p < 0.01) or gave supernatural explanations (p = .02). Causes mixed head injury (30.4%) with spirit possession (40.2%); 74.5% needed education for the child.

Methodology

Interviewed 102 caregivers at two child mental health clinics with an adapted Family Interview Schedule plus questions on causes, interventions, coping, and open-ended unmet needs.

Limitations

A clinic convenience sample in one city cannot estimate national prevalence of stigma, and the cross-sectional design cannot prove traditional help-seeking causes stigma.

How this study connects

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