title: Exploring the meaning of childhood disability: perceptions of disability among mothers of children with disabilities (CWD) in Kuwait.
abstract: The purpose of this exploratory research was to examine perceptions of mothers with children with disabilities (CWD) in Kuwait in order to understand the meaning of disability from their perspective and to explore the extent to which such perceptions influence rehabilitative services that their children receive. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers of CWD receiving services at a large pediatric facility in Kuwait. Four themes emerged from the interviews: (1) mother's perceptions of disability, (2) mother's extended caregiver role, (3) religious beliefs as a coping strategy, and (4) perception of rehabilitation services. Our findings suggest that despite a traditional acceptance of disability as divine intervention or a challenge sent to them by God, mothers were motivated to maximize rehabilitation services in order to improve the functional capacity of their children. Kuwaiti mothers may hold both the fatalistic view of disability, and the belief that the course of disability can be altered through a rehabilitative intervention, in tension. An appreciation of this phenomenon might move toward a rehabilitation delivery model that integrates and harmonizes such beliefs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Sudha R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Raman
authors.forename: Shilpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mandoda
authors.forename: Laila Kasim
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hamdan
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landry
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007730:Kuwait; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012067:Religion