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September Newsletter

Dear friends,

Welcome back after the summer. We hope that you had a great break!

A key constraint in generating good evidence on disability is the dearth of researchers with disabilities, particularly from low resource settings. We are therefore delighted to welcome four students with disabilities from the Global South to start the doctoral programme at LSHTM from this month! Luthfi Azizatunnisa is from Indonesia and will be investigating disability and social protection, particularly in relation to health insurance provision. Pravarsha Prakash, from India, will focus on the inclusion of people with disabilities in Anti-Microbial Resistance activities. Desta Debalkie, from Ethiopia, will explore access to healthcare for people with disabilities. Jackie Akoth, from Uganda, will investigate the challenges that sign language users experience in accessing healthcare services. We are immensely grateful to the donors (NIHR, Indonesian Government, Younger Family) in supporting these doctoral students and we aim to expand this programme further in the coming years.
 
Another way in which we are trying to address the gap in researchers with disabilities is through our work experience programme at LSHTM. We have loved having several more placements with us over the summer. They have worked on a range of reviews, qualitative research and policy analysis. We are very pleased to announce that the programme is being extended to MRC Uganda to work within the disability research programme there.  Please contact us here if you would like to find out more about these opportunities.
 
Another issue that we face in our work is how to move evidence into practice and policy. We therefore developed and launched the Disability Evidence Portal as a repository of solutions, evidence and tools for strengthening decision-making within Disability-Inclusive Development. The Evidence Portal has made it to the Zero Project shortlist in the field of Information and Communication Technology. Results out this month!

Please read on for more news on papers and projects!

With best wishes,

Hannah and Tom

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PENDA is a major ICED project, funded by FCDO, aiming to increase evidence to support disability inclusive development. We will focus on developing people, knowledge and tools.
 
Some updates on PENDA this month…

• The baseline is now complete for the Star Plus randomised controlled trial in Bangladesh, which investigates whether an inclusive livelihood programme is feasible and effective.
• The endline is now complete for the randomised controlled trial in Uganda, investigating the impact of Disability-inclusive poverty graduation.
• PENDA is supporting a work experience programme for researchers with disabilities at MRC Uganda.

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Publications

Lots of papers from ICED!                                                                 

Tracey Smythe led the paper on The Role of Parenting Interventions in Optimizing School Readiness for Children With Disabilities in Low and Middle Income Settings in Frontiers in Pediatrics. This paper makes the case for optimising school readiness for children with disabilities by focusing on disability and its determinants within culturally sensitive parenting interventions, and early child development teaching programmes at schools, to better inform parents and teachers and strengthen education systems towards achieving the full intent of SDG 4.2 and global development goals for all.

Morgon Banks led a team of ICED and other researchers to produce the helpful report on Adapting Disability Research Methods and Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Experiences from the Field for IDS Bulletin. She also teamed up with international authors for the report on Estimating the Extra Costs for Disability for Social Protection Programs. This report uses different approaches to estimate extra costs and makes recommendations on the findings for improvement of social protection programmes.  

Tom Shakespeare supported the ONS report on “Disabled people's experiences with activities, goods and services, UK: February to March 2022”, which reports on the findings of qualitative research with a range of people with disabilities.
 

Hannah Kuper contributed to the paper on The economic burden of congenital Zika Syndrome in Brazil: an overview at 5 years and 10 years. Published in BMJ Global Health. This paper shows that there are high costs incurred to families of children with congenital Zika Syndrome, as well as, health care providers and governments, but that when families receive social protection it buffers them from catastrophic economic impacts. The term “burden” is used as it is common in economics, and not to imply in any way that these children are a burden. 

Hannah Kuper recorded a podcast to support the paper on The National Health Policy for People with Disabilities in Brazil: An Analysis of the Content, Context and the Performance of Social Actors. in Health Policy and PlanningFormer ICED MSc Student Fahrin Andiwijaya worked with Calum Davey and Hannah Kuper to produce the article "Disability and Participation in Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" in IJERPH, which shows that women with disabilities were 22% less likely to have been screened for breast cancer and 37% less likely to have been screened  for cervical cancer.

Other papers this month:

• Veronika Reichenberger and others: "Participatory Visual Methods with caregivers of children with Congenital Zika Syndrome in Colombia: A case study" in Wellcome Open.
• Hannah Kuper and South African colleagues Community-based adult hearing care provided by community healthcare workers using mHealth technologies, published in Global Health Action
• Islay Mactaggart and others: A School Eye Health Rapid Assessment (SEHRA) planning tool: Module to survey the magnitude and nature of local needs. In BMC Public Health
• Sarah Polack and Islay Mactaggart: Anxiety and depression in Guatemala: Sociodemographic characteristics and service access. In Plos One
• Tom Shakespeare and Hannah Kuper et al: Sexual behaviours and sexual health among middle-aged and older adults in Britain. In Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Islay Mactaggart et al: Qualitative study of patient experiences of mental distress during TB investigation and treatment in Zambia. In BMC Psychology
• Islay Mactaggart et al: Conceptualization, detection, and management of psychological distress and mental health conditions among people with tuberculosis in Zambia: a qualitative study with stakeholders' and TB health workers. In International Journal of Mental Health Systems

Operational research: 

• Morgon Banks, Shaffa Hameed and Hannah Kuper published Access to the Disability Allowance in the Maldives: National coverage and factors affecting uptake (sagepub.com) in Disability and Social Policy
• Antony Duttine and others published Assessment of the feasibility of Juntos: A support programme for families of children affected by Congenital Zika Syndrome. In Wellcome Open Research
• Islay Mactaggart joined a team asking... Do we really want to know? The journey to implement empirical research recommendations in ICRC's responses in Myanmar and Lebanon. Published in Disasters
• Morgon Banks, Hannah Kuper and others completed the Campbell review on the Effectiveness of interventions for improving livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries.

Hearing related studies:

• Tess Bright, Robin Youngs, Islay Mactaggart and Sarah Polack published Evaluating the inclusion of tympanometry in population-based surveys of hearing loss. In the Journal of Laryngology and Otology
• Hannah Kuper joined former ICED Jiang Fan to consider Relationship between hearing loss and depression symptoms among older adults in China: The mediating role of social isolation and loneliness. In the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Update from the Disability Evidence Portal:

The Disability Evidence Portal (DEP) includes evidence-based briefs to guide policy makers on different topics.
 

The DEP's Lambert Felix received DPH funding to attend the 14th International Conference on Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) at Sheffield from 30th August - 2nd September.

Both the conference sessions, and networking with multidisciplinary professionals including organisations for people with disabilities highlighted the need for further research, in particularly specific guidelines related to management of people with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).

As a first step, an evidence brief focusing on OI in LMICs will be undertaken as part of the DEP work. The brief will aim to produce both condition-specific and generic disability inclusive recommendations.

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Upcoming Seminars and Events by LSHTM

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Upcoming ICED webinar:

You can find all our previous seminars (including the audio recordings and slides) here.

New seminar series to start in October. Watch this space!

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Other things of interest

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• Check out these really helpful disability-inclusive Child Safeguarding Guidelines produced by Able Child Africa.
• New UNAIDS report In Danger launched, and featuring a section on people with disabilities in relation to HIV control.  
• Climate change, disability and rehabilitation workshop. Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education. Weekly sessions from Sept 29-Oct 20.
• New report out on learning from Lives and Deaths – people with learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) 

And finally... LSHTM is celebrating 10 years of the MSc Global Mental Health
Date & Time:     Friday 23 September 2022, 13:00 - 19:00 BST
Broad agenda:  13:00 - 14:30 for staff presentations/discussions
                          15:00 - 17:00 for MSc GMH 10-year celebration session
                          17:00 - 19:00 Reception
Venue:              John Snow Lecture Theatre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
(Livestream details to be confirmed. Otherwise, we hope to record the celebration event and share it afterwards. Details will be shared with registrants closer to the date).

If you are able to attend, please register  on Eventbrite by Monday 19 September. If you would like to share your work (5-7 minute talk, pending number of speakers) at the staff presentations session, please let us know by completing this brief Expression of Interest Form by Friday 9 September 2022 to enable us sufficient time to confirm the speakers. 

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Work Experience Programme at ICED

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We are delighted to have been awarded an LSHTM Equality Diversity and Inclusion Grant to continue our work experience scheme for people with disabilities seeking experience in research. All placements have now been filled but we will re-open our programme next year for new candidates. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.

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Have you seen this?

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Ever wanted to know about the key suffragettes with disabilities? Read here. I particularly like the sound of Rosa May Billinghurst who used her tricycle like a battering ram to push through police lines!

Read previous newsletters

2022

• January 2022
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2021

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2020

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2019

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2018

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• July 2018 (No newsletter for this month)
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• December 2018

2017

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2016

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2015

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2014

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2013

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The  situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing. We have gathered a list of resources about COVID-19 to share with caregivers, children & young people and education, health and social care practitioners to navigate the dynamic situation of the COVID-19 response, and the many impacts that it will have. We hope that they are helpful and we will continue to add new resources as they become available. 

• Information on how parent groups have been run post ‘lock-down’ in Rwanda
• Guidelines on what to consider to run groups safely in the context of COVID-19
• A range of free digital COVID-19 educational resources for children: download Axel Scheffler’s book, download a copy of Lydia Monk’s book
• Share your story and contribute to voices of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak: voices
• LSHTM’s free online course for anyone who is interested to learn about what we know about COVID-19, and how we should respond to the outbreak
• A course that introduces COVID-19, created for teenagers and young adults
• Presentation from the International Centre for Evidence in Disability: making the response disability-inclusive
• Paper on what we can learn from a disability inclusive response

Working with parent groups – a training resource for facilitators and caregivers

These manuals (Getting to Know Cerebral Palsy, Juntos and ABAANA EIP) aim to increase knowledge and skills in caring for a child with developmental disabilities. Research highlighted the significant needs of the caregivers, and how they can gain a huge amount of support from meeting with each other in an understanding environment.

It promotes a participatory learning approach with an emphasis on working with groups and the empowerment of parents and caregivers.

Download the manual (in various languages)

“Before, my family and people in my community used to say ‘this child’s suffering is a result of parent’s sin’. After taking the training I have explained what causes cerebral palsy to others. Now, no-one says anything like this.” 
Parent, Sirajganj, Bangladesh

Download and use these animated videos from ICED on child developmental and developmental disability, with versions in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The first of these videos provides information on child development across different domains and considers how this process can be disrupted for some children. The second explores the challenges and barriers in the lives of people with a developmental disability, and how support strategies can help an individual better participate in their community. 

Please use these videos in your own teaching, support groups or in any other forum, appropriately acknowledging the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The videos are available in English, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish.

View the English videos below:

View the English videos with subtitles here:

• Child development video with English subtitles
• Developmental disability video with English subtitles

View the Portuguese (Brazil) videos with subtitles here:

• Child development video with Portuguese (Brazil) subtitles 
• Developmental disability video with Portuguese (Brazil) subtitles

View the Spanish videos with subtitles here:

• Child development video with Spanish subtitles 
• Developmental disability video with Spanish subtitles

Join a global community to share ideas, access the latest research, find solutions, meet new people and collaborate on innovative and exciting projects.

This annual publication promotes good ear and hearing health in low and middle-income countries.

It's a forum for exchanging ideas, experience and information that facilitate continuing education for all levels of health worker. It is delivered to almost 4,000 healthcare providers worldwide. Some issues have been translated into French and Spanish.

Read previous issues

• Issue No. 21 (2020) Ear and hearing care in the midst of a pandemic
• Issue No. 20 (2019) Noise-induced hearing loss
• Issue No. 19 (2018) Hearing aid systems in low-resource settings
• Issue No. 18 (2017) Focus: Ear and Hearing Health in Schools
• Issue No. 17 (2016) Common ear conditions underdiagnosed at primary level
• Version Française No. 3 (2021) Soins de l’oreille et de l’audition en temps de pandémie
• Version en Español No. 2 (2021) Cuidado del oído y la audición en media de una pandemia
• Version française No. 2 (2016) Sensibiliser la communauté à la santé de l’oreille et de l’audition
• Version en Español No. 1 (2016) Abordando los problemas de oído
• Version française No. 1 (2015) Lutter contre les affections de l’oreill et de l’audition au niveau primaire
• Issue No. 16 (2015) Testing small children’s hearing with little or no equipment
• Issue No. 15 (2014) Early detection of hearing loss in newborn and preschool children
• Issue No. 14 (2014) Living with hearing impairment
• Issue No. 13 (2013) Increasing community awareness of ear and hearing health
• Issue No. 12 (2012) Addressing ear and hearing problems at primary level
• Issue No. 11 (2011) Projects in the Philippines
• Issue No.10 (2010) Less noisy cities Issue No. 9 (2009) Noise: an ubiquitous pollutant
• Issue No.8 (2008) Tinnitus: a common and manageable complaint
• Issue No.7 (2008) Screening for hearing impairment
• Issue No.6 (2007) Chronic suppurative otitis media: a disease still waiting for solutions
• Issue No.5 (2007) Rehabilitation of the deaf and hard of hearing
• Issue No.4 (2006) Deafness caused by ototoxicity in developing countries
• Issue No.3 (2006) Congenital infections and hearing impairment
• Issue No.2 (2005) Current practice for ear syringing
• Issue No.1 (2004) Congenital deafness in developing countries

Read articles on ICED activity in the international press and on SciDev.net. Use disability resources from across the web.

Read press articles on our work

• Disability in the Global South Journal focusing on Disability and the SDGs, edited by Hannah Kuper and Shaun Grech. July 2017
• National Survey of Disability in Guatemala 2016 – Case Study, International Institute for Sustainable Development, June 2017
• Hannah Kuper discusses the exclusion of children with disabilities from education around the world – Al Jazeera News Hour (live), 18 August 2015
• Many disabled children in poorer countries left out of primary education – The Guardian, 18 August, 2015

SciDev.net columns

• February 2016: ‘Zika babies’ need support now
• January 2016: Kids at risk from El Niño
• December 2015: Monitor birth defects to save lives
• November 2015: Rethink healthcare for the ageing world
• October 2015: Defend girls’ sexual health rights
• September 2015: Reshape mental healthcare in crises
• August 2015: Give SDG monitoring some bite
• July 2015: Community care cuts NTD burden
• June 2015: Better data on disaster victims
• May 2015: A better way to find disabled kids
• April 2015: The next hurdle for Ebola survivors
• March 2015: Universal Health Coverage: Bearing the Brunt of Violence
• February 2015: Reaching Patients with Smartphones
• January 2015: Universal Health Care can happen
• December 2014: HIV and Disability November 2014: Ageing and Disability​​​​​​​

All files and contents in this folder are © LSHTM unless otherwise stated. You are welcome to reuse, adapt and share these files for non-commercial teaching and learning purposes without asking for permission. You must acknowledge the International Centre for Evidence in Disability, LSHTM as the original creator and provide a link to our website: www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres/international-centre-evidence-disability. We would also very much appreciate hearing how you are using the content, please let us know at disabilitycentre@lshtm.ac.uk.

Download full course

Full course ZIP (2GB) |ZIP (no videos) (182MB)

Download content from each week

• Week 1: Disability and its importance to the global development agenda
  ZIP (522MB)|ZIP (no videos) (9MB)
• Week 2: Health, wellbeing and disability
  ZIP (807MB)|ZIP (no videos) (19MB)
• Week 3: Access to health care and rehabilitation services
  ZIP (904MB)|ZIP (no videos) (154MB)

Download individual resources

Video: Welcome to the course

• Video (MP4 19.3MB)
• Transcript (PDF 86KB)

Week 1: Disability and its importance to the global development agenda

Video: Welcome to week 1

• Video (MP4 21.4MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 149KB)

Video & teaching slides: Why does disability matter globally?

• Video (MP4 74.9MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 80KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF 954KB)
• References (PDF 88KB)

Video:  Why does disability matter – Personal perspectives

• Video (MP4 92MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 76KB)

Article: Why does disability matter – individual case studies

• Step text (PDF 65KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF 502KB)

Article: Why does disability matter to International Development? Part 1

• Article (PDF 86KB)

Article: Nothing about us without us

• Article (PDF 122KB)
• References (PDF 188KB)
• Disability and the SDGs – How relevant is each SDG to disability? (PDF 632KB)

Video: What does disability mean – personal perspectives

• Video (MP4 58MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 72KB)

Video: Attitudes to disability

• Video (MP4 65MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 78KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF 734KB)

Video: What does disability mean – a framework

• Video (MP4 14MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 80KB)
• References (PDF 97KB)

Article: Measuring disability: Why would you want to and how do you do it?

• Article (PDF 164KB) 
• References (PDF 168KB)

Video: What is the relationship between impairments and disability?

• Video (MP4 110MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 82KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF)

Video: what are the common impairments related to disability?

• Video (MP4 42MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 81KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF 2MB)
• References (PDF 266KB)

Article: Why does impairment matter?

• Step text (PDF 244KB)
• Teaching slides (PDF 392KB)

Video: Summary of week 1

• Video (MP4 17MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 74KB)

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Video: Welcome to week 2

• Video (MP4 28MB)
• Step text and transcript (PDF 163KB)