1. Health Issues of
People with
Disabilities
West Africa Transformation
Development Conference
Ghana 2010

2. Perfect Dream
Empty Wheelchairs
Symbolize No More Disabilities

3. Reality
 600 million people live with disabilities
 Rapid increase due to:
 Population growth
 Increased aging population
 Malnutrition
 Chronic conditions
 Injuries- war, violence esp. domestic violence,
accidents
 AIDS

4. Society’s Impact on the
Disabled
53 rd World Health Conference
 80% of people with disabilities esp. child
population, live is low-income countries
 Number of people with disabilities is growing
faster in Africa than any other continent
 Poverty limits access to basic health care
 Socio-economic inequality significantly
increases disability
 Cultural beliefs impact acceptance
 Increased violence in the home, community
and country are major causes of increase

5. View of the Disabled
 Devalued
 Dehumanized
 Rejected
 Victimized
 Excluded
 Invisible
 Aspiritual

6. It Could Happen to
You!

7. Motor Impairment
 Cerebral Palsy
 Spinal Bifida
 Traumatic Brain Injury
 Spinal Cord Injuries
 Polio

8. Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is caused by injury to the brain, which
occurs as the baby grows in the uterus or near the time of
birth. Premature babies are at higher risk.

9. Types of Cerebral
Palsy

10. Health Care Issues
 Nutrition – poor eaters, may need feeding
tube
 Communication
 Seizures – medication, seizure precautions
 Spasticity – muscle relaxants, surgery
 Mobility- leg braces, crutches, wheelchair
 Scoliosis resulting in lung compression

11. Life Impact
 Life long disorder
 Long-term care needed for more severe
cases
 Normal life expectancy
 Social impact – long term medical care
and social need

12. Prevention
 Early prenatal care
may reduce risk of
premature birth thus,
reducing risk of CP

13. Spina Bifida
Spina bifida is a congenital disorder (birth defect) in which the
backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth.

14. Health Issues
 Surgery to close back
 Hydrocephalus – water on the brain –
requires a drain from brain to abdomen
 Urinary tract problems – catheterization
 Seizures – may occur
 Mobility – braces, crutches, wheelchair
 Scoliosis

15. Life Impact
 Normal life expectancy
 Life long health needs
 Susceptible to urinary tract infections due
to daily catheterization

16. Prevention
Can be prevented
when mother gets
Folic acid before
getting pregnant and
during early days of
pregnancy

17. Traumatic Brain Injury
TBI
Symptoms and long
term effects depends
on the area of the
brain that is
damaged.

18. Symptoms of TBI
 Lethargy
 Confusion
 Irritability
 Severe headaches
 Changes in speech, vision, or movement
 Bleeding
 Vomiting
 Seizure
 Coma
 Death

19. Subtle Symptoms of
TBI
 Long- and short-term memory problems
 Slowed thinking
 Distorted perception
 Concentration problems
 Attention deficits
 Communication problems (oral or written)
 Poor planning and sequencing
 Poor judgment
 Changes in mood or personality

20. Treatment
Prevention
 Medical treatment depends on the
severity of the injury
 Long term school issues may need to be
addressed
 Head gear during contact sports
 Helmet when riding motorcycle or bike
 Wear seatbelts in car

21. Spinal Cord Injuries
 A spinal cord injury usually begins with a
sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that
fractures or dislocates vertebrae
 The damage begins at the moment of injury
when displaced bone fragments, disc material,
or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord
tissue.
 Some injuries will allow almost complete
recovery. Others will result in complete
paralysis.


22. Treatment
 Improved emergency care for people
with spinal cord injuries and aggressive
treatment and rehabilitation can minimize
damage to the nervous system and even
restore limited abilities
 Respiratory complications indicates a
severe injury

23. Joni Erickson Tada

25. Polio
 Nigeria is one of four endemic countries
worldwide where polio infections
originate before they are transferred
across borders; the others are
Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Globally
in 2009, 328 polio cases have been
reported, 240 of them in polio-endemic
countries.

26. Impact of Polio

27. Prevention - vaccine
 In the past, resistance
among conservative
religious groups in
northern Nigeria stymied
campaigns
 Lack of preparedness or
familiarity with polio
vaccines is now the
biggest challenge facing
vaccinators.

28. Sensory Impairments
 Visual Impairment - Blindness
 Hearing Impairment - Deafness

29. Vision Impairment
Blindness
 Blindness is the lack of vision that can
not be corrected by glasses or contacts
 Partial vision means very limited sight
 Legally blind is 20/200

30. Leading Causes of
Blindness in Developing
Countries
 Cataracts
 River Blindness
 Vitamin A
Deficiency
 Trachoma

31. Seek Medical
Treatment
 Sudden vision loss is always an
emergency
 Symptoms of a detached retina
Floaters
Gray curtain or veil moving across
your field of vision
Requires immediate medical to save
vision

32. Cataracts
 Cloudy, fuzzy, foggy, or
filmy vision
 Glare from lamps or the
sun, which may be severe
 Difficulty driving at night
due to glare from
headlights
 Frequent changes in
eyeglass prescription
 Double vision
 Difficulty performing daily
activities because of vision
problems

33. Cataract Treatment
 Surgery is a common procedure that
involves removing the clouded lens of the
eye (the cataract).
 The lens can be replaced with an artificial
lens called an intraocular lens implant
(IOL) or
 left out and eyeglasses or contact lenses
can compensate for its absence.

34. Onchocerciasis
River Blindness
 Caused by a parasitic worm and is spread by
the bite of an infected blackfly.
 Multiple infectious bites are necessary for a
person to get the disease.
 Infected persons may not have symptoms, but
a skin rash, eye lesions and/or bumps under
the skin can occur.
 Eye lesions can progress to blindness.

36. Treatment
 Ivermectin is administered as an oral dose of
150 micrograms per kilogram (maximum 12
mg) every 6-12 months.
 The drug should probably not be given to
pregnant women or children under 5 years.
 Ivermectin does not kill the adult parasites, but
reduce the numbers of microfilariae in skin so
the disease does not progress

37. Vitamin A Deficiency
 Night blindness or the
inability to see in dim
light –
 Treatable with Vitamin A
which can be stored in
the body
 More severe, it develops
into an irreversible
condition termed
xerophthalmia, which is
a drying of parts of the
eye that will eventually
result in blindness.

38. Vitamin A Deficiency

39. Trachoma
 The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis
that causes trachoma spreads through
direct contact with the eye, nose or throat
secretions of infected people.
 It's very contagious
 Almost always affects both eyes
 Untreated trachoma can lead to
blindness.

40. Transmission
 Hands
 Clothing - towels
 Insects.
 In the world's developing countries, flies
are a major means of transmission.

41. Trachoma Symptoms
 Mild itching and irritation of the eye
 Discharge from the eye containing
mucus or pus
 Marked light sensitivity (photophobia)
 Blurred vision
 Eye pain

42. Trachoma Treatment
 Trachoma is preventable and, if treated
early, the prognosis for people with
trachoma is excellent.
 Trachoma treatment options depend on
the stage of development
Medication
Surgery

43. Untreated Trachoma
If left untreated, the
infection eventually
causes the eyelid to
turn inwards, which
in turn causes the
eyelashes to rub on
the eyeball,

44. Visually Impaired Can
Live a Normal Life with
Support

45. Hearing Impairment

46. Ear Anatomy

47. Deaf Culture
Nigeria Delegation

48. Cognitive Impairment
 Down Syndrome
 Mental Retardation
 Learning Disabilities
 Autism

49. Down Syndrome
 A genetic disorder that causes lifelong mental
retardation, developmental delays and other
problems
 Trisomy 21
 Most common genetic cause of severe learning
disabilities in children
 Most cases of Down syndrome aren't inherited.
They're caused by a mistake in cell division
during the development of the egg, sperm or
embryo.

50. Risk Factors
 Advancing age of mother – over 35 and
teen mothers
 Having another child with Down
Syndrome
 Carrier of genetic translocation for Down
Syndrome

51. Related Health Issues
 Heart defects. May require heart surgery in
early childhood
 Leukemia.
 Infectious diseases especially pneumonia
 Sleep apnea
 Obesity.
 Other problems including gastrointestinal
blockage, thyroid problems, hearing loss,
skeletal problems and poor vision.

52. Education for All

53. Emotional - Behavioral
Impairments
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder - ADHD
 Behavior Disorders
 Psychiatric Disorders

54. Sharing Information
Empowers the Disabled