EXPLORING THERAPY-RELATED CONSTRAINTS IN THE DELIVERY OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY SERVICES TO CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY IN KIBERA SLUMS, NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA

Mutuiri Caroline Mwende, Tom Abuom

Abstract


This study sought  to establish therapy-related constraints  in delivering Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) services to children with CP in Kibera slums. The study was guided by the four-level model of the healthcare system and adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population included caregivers of children with CP, speech therapists (in training), occupational therapists, and other healthcare providers offering speech services, a total of 51 participants. Purposive sampling was used to select study participants, and the entire study population served as the sample size. Data was collected through questionnaires for caregivers and interviews with speech therapists (in training), occupational therapists, and other healthcare providers offering speech services. The study ensured validity through professional reviews and a pilot study conducted at a similar institution within the Lang’ata constituency in Nairobi County. Reliability was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha to assess the consistency of research instruments. Qualitative data from interviews were analyzed thematically, while quantitative data from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency counts, percentages, and tables utilizing SPSS. The study revealed that a significant percentage of caregivers were  discontented with the way the therapist treated their children with cerebral palsy, which not only resulted to inconsistent therapy attendance, but also poor cooperation with the speech therapists. In addition, inadequacy of available speech therapists,  low quality of services provided,  limited speech therapy resources and monetary constraints were cited as  obstacles to seeking speech therapy services despite some care centres offering subsidized or free services. The study concluded that addressing these therapy-related constraints  is essential to providing effective care and  delivery of speech and language therapy services to children with CP. The study recommended that the government should prioritize the recruitment of speech and language therapists in underserved areas, particularly in slum communities and collaborate  with NGOs to  conduct disability awareness campaigns in Kibra in order to combat stigmatization and ensure that community members are well-informed about the available services for children with CP.

 

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Keywords


cerebral palsy, constraints, speech and language therapist, speech therapy services

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v10i4.5391

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