Community service providers' roles in supporting communication disability rehabilitation in Majority World contexts: An example from Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: In Majority World countries, where speech-language pathology services are extremely limited, people with communication disabilities (PWCD) may seek help from a range of service providers. This qualitative research aimed to explore the nature of community services offered to people with communication disabilities who seek help in Accra, Ghana.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine individuals from three professions: pastors (3), doctors (3), and herbalists (3) exploring services that they may offer to PWCD seeking help. Interviews were analysed using Thematic Network Analysis.

Result: Six global themes described beliefs about communication disability, types of intervention, explanations provided to people with communication disabilities, promoting communication, processes for selecting treatments, and links between service providers. Interventions encompassed physical, spiritual, psychosocial and environmental approaches, with the notion of plural beliefs interwoven through a number of themes.

Conclusion: In Ghana, and other Majority World contexts, service providers in sectors not commonly associated with communication disability rehabilitation may have important roles to play in supporting people with communication disabilities. Understanding the contributions of other service providers may assist the growing profession of speech-language pathology to collaborate across sectors, to develop specific, culturally responsive approaches to service development.

Keywords:

• community services
• speech-language pathology
• developing countries
• sub-Saharan Africa
• multidisciplinary

Acknowledgements

The authors thank participants for sharing their knowledge about communication disability and other service providers in the community who assisted in recruitment.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2019.1651395.

Notes

1 Minority World countries are countries often referred to as high-income countries. Majority World countries may also be referred to as low and middle-income countries. These terms were selected for use in this article, as considerations of “development” extend beyond income.