Abstract:
Objectives To describe psychosocial issues faced and
the services available to children accessing the child
development clinic and how a social worker could
help extend services provided through the clinic.
Design A cross sectional descriptive qualitative
study.
Method All children attending the weekly clinic were
seen by a social work researcher and medical officer,
over a period of seven months and in-depth
interviews conducted on twenty five selected patients
with significant psychosocial problems. The parent or
accompanying care giver was enrolled through a
volunteer process and subjected to an open ended
consultation on problems faced, services available
and accessed, and reasons for not accessing same. A
study was made of disability services in the
community.
Results All patients had psychosocial problems of
varying degree. Twenty five children in whom social
problems caused a significant adverse impact on the
capacity of care givers in providing care and therapy
included a broad range of complex issues. Financial
concerns, poor utilization of government and non
governmental support schemes, inadequacy of
suitable transport, dearth of facilities for appropriate
schooling, social isolation, lack of respite for
caregivers and siblings, family disharmony,
alcoholism, and absence of counseling services were
among these. Viable options for solving identified
problems and the ways in which a social services
officer could assist in each situation are described.Conclusion Families of children with disabilities face
several difficulties in accessing services. Even when
relevant services are available they are not competent
to obtain these and are in need of extra help. A
hospital based social services officer working within
the team of the CDC could fulfill this role, effectively
connecting government policy with the people it
targets.
