Caregivers’ level of income and Access to Rehabilitation Therapy among Children with Disability, in Bangladesh
Abstract
The Government of Bangladesh along with the development partners including NGOs, Disable People’s Organization (DPOs) and civil societies have been taking a wide range of initiatives in implementing disability activities in the country but the access of children with disabilities. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) is evolving in low? to middle?income countries. Although established as a separate specialty in Bangladesh 40 years ago, there has been no formal documentation of the history and current state of PMR, or associated disability issues in Bangladesh. The study adopted a cross-sectional methodology targeting 108 caregivers in the Southern Town of Dhaka. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics. The specific descriptive statistics included means and standard deviations. Results showed that majority of caregivers earned less than Tk 10,000 a month. Accessing rehabilitation therapy for children with disabilities requires sufficient income which majorities of caregivers are unable to rise. Size of income is essential in seeking medical services for seek persons including disable children. Income earned by caregivers was not sufficient to meet medical therapy for the disable children. The study makes a recommendation to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in subsidizing medical expenses and bills for the disable persons.
Key words: Income, Rehabilitation Therapy, Children, Disabilities, Dhaka
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