Alternative Explanations for Disability: Inspiring patient-centered care among healthcare practitioners through the arts
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Languages and Cultures
Abstract
The proposed project builds on the finding of the Disability and Inclusion Africa (DIA) project that many health practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa have little understanding of the complexity of living with disability and that the alternative explanations for disability highlighted by the DIA project are not sufficiently understood. These 'alternative explanations' include assumptions and misconceptions, medical determinist, and religious or supernatural beliefs.
Discourses of disability are often created by medical professionals, social scientists or development agencies, and most often in the global north, quite removed from the daily realities of disabled persons. These discourses are embedded into healthcare systems and practices in sub-Saharan African contexts, where the focus is primarily on treating the specific medical condition or disability, rather than taking a more holistic patient-centered approach which recognizes the wider impact of beliefs and attitudes on disabled persons.
This follow-on project engages applied theatre and creative writing to stimulate dialogue and reflection to enhance healthcare practitioners' understandings of the experience of being disabled in sub-Saharan African contexts. A series of workshops facilitated by theatre and creative writing practitioners will be held in Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa, bringing together disabled persons and healthcare practitioners to reflect on what it means to be disabled in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa.
Drawing on the workshop discussions and outputs, the project team will work with Disabled Persons Organizations and trainers of healthcare practitioners to develop a Continuing Professional Development Resource for healthcare practitioners.
By increasing awareness of the impact of these alternative explanations among health professionals, the project aims to inform their practice and inspire a more patient-centered approach.
Discourses of disability are often created by medical professionals, social scientists or development agencies, and most often in the global north, quite removed from the daily realities of disabled persons. These discourses are embedded into healthcare systems and practices in sub-Saharan African contexts, where the focus is primarily on treating the specific medical condition or disability, rather than taking a more holistic patient-centered approach which recognizes the wider impact of beliefs and attitudes on disabled persons.
This follow-on project engages applied theatre and creative writing to stimulate dialogue and reflection to enhance healthcare practitioners' understandings of the experience of being disabled in sub-Saharan African contexts. A series of workshops facilitated by theatre and creative writing practitioners will be held in Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa, bringing together disabled persons and healthcare practitioners to reflect on what it means to be disabled in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa.
Drawing on the workshop discussions and outputs, the project team will work with Disabled Persons Organizations and trainers of healthcare practitioners to develop a Continuing Professional Development Resource for healthcare practitioners.
By increasing awareness of the impact of these alternative explanations among health professionals, the project aims to inform their practice and inspire a more patient-centered approach.
Publications
Imafidon, E
(2025)
Caring for Differently-abled: A Resource for Health Professionals in Nigeria
| Description | Our project has explored the various impacts of beliefs and attitudes towards disability in sub-Saharan African contexts, and the multiple, complex ways in which people living with disabilities respond to and understand themselves and their societies. These beliefs and attitudes stem from assumptions and misconceptions, medical determinism, traditional, religious or supernatural beliefs. Many explanations and understandings of disability are long-standing in local cultures, passed from generation to generation and deeply rooted in the fabric of community life, while others have emerged or been reshaped in response to the challenges of contemporary life. These understandings are often held simultaneously or intersect. Our project found that the negative impacts of these beliefs and understandings include the reinforcing or perpetuation of stereotypes and stigmatization, a lack of accommodation in educational, healthcare and employment settings, and various forms of violence and physical harm. However, we also found that some of the very same explanations can play a more positive role that promotes inclusion. Our focus acknowledges yet moves beyond the social and medical models of disability in thinking about disability by paying close attention to cultural narratives and how disability is understood and represented in different forms of life in African places, art, ontologies and philosophies, and literary works. It is an inclusive model of disability, which weaves together alternative understandings of disability with more dominant understandings to pay serious attention to culturally informed understandings and indigenous formations of disability. This FoF project enabled disabled participants to communicate experiences in healthcare settings, which include physical and attitudinal barriers, stigma and discrimination, to healthcare professionals and trainees, who were then invited to reflect on the implications for their professional practice going forward. |
| Exploitation Route | We are currently drafting a policy report to ensure that our findings are visible to policy makers, particularly in the field of development. Collaboration on a series of resources for healthcare professionals in Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa is underway, with significant potential for impact once these are launched in 2025. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Healthcare Other |
| URL | https://www.dia-network.org/ |
| Description | International Science Partnerships Fund for Official Development Assistance - Disability and Healthcare in Nigeria |
| Amount | £28,750 (GBP) |
| Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | Centring Voices of Persons with Disabilities in Healthcare Systems |
| Organisation | Ambrose Alli University |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I worked with these partners in organising a 3-day workshop in Nigeria on the theme of centring voices of disabled people in healthcare systems in Nigeria. The funding for the workshop came from this project. It was held from May 27-29, 2024. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 Academics at Ambrose Alli University (Kenneth Uyi Abudu, Philosophy Dept, Augustine E. Iyare, Philosophy Dept, and Osadebamen D. Oamen, Theatre and Media Arts Dept) played key roles in facilitating the workshop. JONAPWD was crucial in identifying participants for the workshop and participated fully, sharing their experiences in the healthcare sector in Nigeria. |
| Impact | The key output from this collaboration is the publication of the health resource titled Caring for the Differently-abled: A Resource for Health Professionals in Nigeria (2025). The collaboration is multidisciplinary consisting of disciplines in the humanities and the sciences such as philosophy, theatre and media arts, and medicine. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Centring Voices of Persons with Disabilities in Healthcare Systems in Nigeria |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | This 3-day co-creative workshop was held from May 27 to 29, 2024 in Benin City, Nigeria and facilitated by Dr Elvis Imafidon, Kenneth Uyi Abudu, and Osedebamen David Omen. The workshop brought together persons with disabilities and healthcare professionals around three days of discussion on: Understanding the disabled self: medical and socio-cultural narratives; Experiencing healthcare: accesses and barriers; and Disability inclusion in healthcare: possibilities and challenges. The workshop led to the production of a co-created resource for Health Professionals in Nigeria, which will be launched in 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.dia-network.org/events/centring-voices-of-persons-with-disabilities-in-healthcare-system... |
| Description | Disability and Healthcare in South Africa: A collaborative writing workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | This workshop brought together people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, medical and nursing students, and representatives of the University of the Western Cape Disability Unit to explore disability and healthcare in South Africa. The workshop was structured around creative writing, discussion and reflection. It was facilitated by Professor Kobus Moolman and Kirsten Deane. The workshop led to the development of a new resource, which will be launched in 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.dia-network.org/events/disability-and-healthcare-in-south-africa-a-collaborative-writing... |
| Description | Disability, the Arts and Healthcare Equity in Cameroon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | A group of disabled participants worked with facilitators Professor Emelda Samba and Bickme Rick to produce a performance that articulated some their experiences in healthcare settings. They performed this to a group of healthcare professionals and trainees. The performance opened up into a facilitated discussion and the workshop provided opportunities for reflection on professional practice on the part of healthcare practitioners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.dia-network.org/events/disability-the-arts-and-healthcare-equity |
| Description | Public Launch of Health Resource |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 40 people attended the launch of the resource for health professionals that emerged as output from a 3-day workshop held in May 2024. The resource titled 'Caring for the Differently-abled: A Resource for Health Professionals in Nigeria' is designed to aid health professionals as they care for disabled patients. The event took place in Benin City, Nigeria and was attended by health professionals, disabled people and disabled people organisations and the general public drawn from the region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2025 |
| Description | Screen for All |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This inclusive film day for people with disabilities was held at La Maison Petit Jo Cameroun, Monatélé, Central Region, Cameroon. Its theme was 'Living your disability like an able person'. The day was filled with film screenings, discussions on the theme and other activities. The day was very positively evaluated by the participants, who appreciated the quality of the screenings, the themes addressed in the films, the richness of discussions and the variety of activities. Participants also emphasized the importance of this initiative in promoting inclusion and raising awareness of the needs of people with disabilities in the local community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.dia-network.org/funding |