Social inclusion of people with disability living in disability centers in kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Background: Social inclusion describes how a society morals all of its citizens, compliments their differences, make sure that everyone’s basic needs are met, their rights are ensured and enables full participation in that society. However, persons with disabilities face continual inequalities that increase the risk of ending up in poverty. Thus, an inclusive growth and development approach is needed to counter this persistent inequality. Such inclusive approaches lead to increase the capabilities, opportunities, and incomes of groups which are consistently on the margins economically, socially and politically. Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore the social inclusion of the people with disability living in disability homes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu valley, Nepal. A sample of 211 people with disabilities aged between 16 years 65 years living in disability centers and homes were randomly selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive analyses were first conducted. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between dependent and independent variables. Results: The study found that the literacy rate and employment level among people with disability is relatively high. However, the difference in employment status related to type of disability, education level and gender has been noted in this study. There is an insignificant relationship between sex and inclusion in education and employment. The bivariate analysis showed that the involvement of male in all indicators of political inclusion as well as in social inclusion is higher than female. However, the multivariate logistic regression, depicted that for females the odds of being involved in disability organizations, political parties, opinions giving in political meeting, involvement in community meeting and volunteering work is more as compared to males. Conclusion: The inclusion of PWDs in education, employment and in decision making and community meeting was high. The findings of this study serve to assess the impact of education, employment, gender and age on key outcome variables. Most of the findings complement the evidence from previous research about the impact of age, education and gender on the probability of being employed, and on social participation. Perhaps the single most important finding is that lower education level of people with disabilities is significantly associated with a substantial reduction in the odds of being employed.