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Presenter(s)
Dr. Geeta Chopra, Reader
Institute of Home Economics
University of Delhi.
Email: drgeeta_chopra@yahoo.com
India has a population of more than a billion, of which there are 170 million children under six years. India's child population constitutes 21 percent of the developing world's child population and 17.5 percent of India's population. The Infant Mortality Rate is 68 and the Child Mortality Rate stands at 29.3.
It is estimated that 5-8% of the population has a disability. When translated to numbers, 50-80 million persons in India are disabled. The existing services for medical care, education or rehabilitative opportunities hardly reach out 15% of this population. There is an urgent requirement to plan preventive programmes and intervene early in case a disability has occurred. Childhood is afflicted by mortality and morbidity due to disability. It is imperative to prevent disability in childhood years to promote survival, growth and development of children. It is possible to intervene in the crucial childhood years through a cadre of trained personnel, who can reach the community and pass on necessary information and provide support and know-how to families to take care of their children.
An Innovative Training Module for community workers on Prevention, Early Detection and Management of childhood (0-6 yrs) disabilities has been developed and field tested. The Module includes
· Two well illustrated Guidebooks written in facile and communicative style
· Visual Aids
· A Disability Screening Schedule ( with high sensitivity and specificity)
· Training Aids
· Directory of Services for the Disabled in Delhi etc.
A 5 days training program using The Module focuses on improving the knowledge of the grass-root functionaries on promotive and preventive mother care and early child care. It discusses the nature of disabilities, equips the trainees with the necessary skills to identify disability early in its course of development and initiate curative measures for special children so as to arrest the impeding effects of disability.
Nineteen frontline community workers of Integrated Child Development Services ( ICDS) of the Government of India were trained in 1996 using The Innovative Module. The trained workers covered a population of about 20,000 from 9 urban slums of Delhi in a house-to-house survey using the DSS, screened 3561 children (0-6yrs) and detected 245 (6.88 %) children with an impairment or disability. Nature of disabilities reported were Developmental delay (18), Delayed/unclear speech (11), Physical Deformity and birth defects (14), Hearing loss(5), Visual Impairment (6 ), orthopedic disability (19) and fits (33). `At risk' conditions were also found like Red and watering eyes (17) and Pus discharge from ears (141). The workers helped the families to initiate suitable intervention steps.
Subsequently, 34 workers were imparted training on The Innovative Module in 2002. The DSS was administered by the workers to identify children with disabilities in 7 urban slums and 4 rural areas of Delhi. The trained workers in a house-to-house survey covered a population of 30,000 persons and screened 4820 children (0-6yrs). They detected 383 children (7.9%) with disabilities. The children were found with orthopedic disabilities (n=63), developmental delay (n=38), speech and hearing disabilities (n=73), visual impairments (n=26), fits (n=79), and various 'at risk' conditions like red and watery eyes (n=73) and discharge from the ears (n=117). Appropriate referral were made and necessary intervention steps were initiated. Parents of children were imparted messages to promote the health and nutrition status of children and mothers.
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