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. 2022 Jul 6;19(14):8269.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148269.

Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

Xanthe Hunt  1 , Melissa Bradshaw  1 , Steyn Lodewyk Vogel  1 , Alberto Vasquez Encalada  2 , Shanice Eksteen  1 , Marguerite Schneider  3 , Kelly Chunga  1 , Leslie Swartz  4
Affiliations

Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

Xanthe Hunt et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Over the life course, persons with disabilities require a range of supports to be integrated into their communities, to participate in activities that are meaningful and necessary, and to have access, on an equal basis to persons without disabilities, to community living. We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature on community support for persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The main findings of this review concern the following: there are gaps in access to community support for persons with disabilities in LMICs; there are barriers to the provision of such support; formal and informal strategies and interventions for the provision of community support exist across the life cycle and different life domains, but evidence concerning their effectiveness and coverage is limited; and the role of community-based rehabilitation and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in the assessment of needs for, and the development and provision of, community support, needs to be more clearly articulated. Research needs a more robust theory of change models with a focus on evaluating different aspects of complex interventions to allow for effective community support practices to be identified.

Keywords: LMIC; community support; disability; human support; inclusion; participation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart for the peer-reviewed literature.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA flow chart for the grey literature.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ecological model according to which literature was organised.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Peer-reviewed literature according to ecological level.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Grey literature according to ecological level.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mapping of key topics in the literature.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Vásquez Encalada A., Gupta S., Cote A., Tanhchareun T., Ghanem A., Pereira M.A. The Disability Support Gap: Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Centre for Inclusive Policy; Washington, DC, USA: 2021. Discussion Paper.
    1. United Nations . Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2006.
    1. Vasquez Encalada A. How Can We Best Provide Community Supports in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? 2021. [(accessed on 1 November 2021)]. Available online: https://inclusive-policy.org/forum/how-can-we-best-provide-community-sup....
    1. United Nations . Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2006.

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