TY - JOUR
T1 - Parents' and professionals' perceptions on causes and treatment options for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a multicultural context on the Kenyan Coast
AU - Gona, Joseph K.
AU - Newton, Charles R.
AU - Rimba, Kenneth
AU - Mapenzi, Rachel
AU - Kihara, Michael
AU - Van De Vijver, Fons J.R.
AU - Abubakar, Amina
AU - Eapen, Valsamma
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the Director of Kenya Medical Research Institute for permission to publish the data. We would also like to thank the Educational Assessment and Resource team in Mombasa County for their assistance in the recruitment process. Thank Karren Visser for her critical appraisal and editing the final draft of this manuscript. Most importantly we would like to express our appreciation to all the participants who took part in this study. This work was supported by KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya and Oxford University, in UK. Professor Charles Newton is supported by Wellcome Trust, UK and an endowment from Ed Scott.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Gona et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2015/8/12
Y1 - 2015/8/12
N2 - Objective To explore parents' and professionals' perceived causes and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on the Kenyan Coast. Methods In-depth interviews and focus group discussions using guiding questions were utilized in data collection. One hundred and three participants, who included parents of children with ASD, special needs teachers, clinicians, and social workers from diverse cultural background, participated in this study. The interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim and then translated to English. Themes were generated using content analysis. Results Preternatural causes were mentioned and included evil spirits, witchcraft, and curses. Biomedical causes comprised infections, drug abuse, birth complications, malnutrition, and genetic related problems. Treatment varied from traditional and spiritual healing to modern treatment in health facilities, and included consultations with traditional healers, offering prayers to God, and visits to hospitals. Conclusions The results suggest that regardless of cultural backgrounds, people on the Kenyan Coast have similar views on perceived causes and treatment of ASD. These findings provide valuable conceptual understanding for professionals when planning and implementing community based rehabilitation interventions targeting children with ASD within a local context.
AB - Objective To explore parents' and professionals' perceived causes and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on the Kenyan Coast. Methods In-depth interviews and focus group discussions using guiding questions were utilized in data collection. One hundred and three participants, who included parents of children with ASD, special needs teachers, clinicians, and social workers from diverse cultural background, participated in this study. The interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim and then translated to English. Themes were generated using content analysis. Results Preternatural causes were mentioned and included evil spirits, witchcraft, and curses. Biomedical causes comprised infections, drug abuse, birth complications, malnutrition, and genetic related problems. Treatment varied from traditional and spiritual healing to modern treatment in health facilities, and included consultations with traditional healers, offering prayers to God, and visits to hospitals. Conclusions The results suggest that regardless of cultural backgrounds, people on the Kenyan Coast have similar views on perceived causes and treatment of ASD. These findings provide valuable conceptual understanding for professionals when planning and implementing community based rehabilitation interventions targeting children with ASD within a local context.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943157869&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0132729
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0132729
M3 - Article
C2 - 26267668
AN - SCOPUS:84943157869
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 10
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 8
M1 - 0132729
ER -
