Assessment of School Enrollment and Associated Factors among Children and Adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders on Follow up at TASH, ZMH, Y12HMC and AMSH. Addis Ababa,Ethiopia: A Cross Sectional Study
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Date
2024-04-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Introduction: Neurodevelopment in children is a dynamic inter-relationship between various components including genetic, brain, cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes throughout the developmental lifespan. Neurodevelopmental diseases and disabilities can be caused by a significant and ongoing interruption to this dynamic process caused by environmental and genetic risk. Impairments in personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning are hallmarks of these disorders. When these children reach school age, they are at greater risk of having special educational needs and experiencing difficulties in their learning or socialization at school. The number of children with disability attending school is extremely low in developing nations, and the overall enrollment rate is frequently under 10% in those nations where statistics are available. Although some research in our country have attempted to study this, there is a shortage of information specifically related to neurodevelopmental diseases.
Objective: To determine the current level of enrolment and identify factors that may affect the level of enrolment in children with neurodevelopmental disorders on follow up at TASH, AMSH, ZMH and Y12HMC.
Methods: A cross-sectional facility-based study was conducted among a sample of 290 caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders attending care at TASH, AMSH, ZMH, and Y12HMC using consecutive sampling. Data was collected using structured tools to assess sociodemographic factors and the associated factors.
Result: The current rate of school enrollment among children with NDD is 40.7 %. Residence in Addis Ababa (AOR=3.398; 95% CI =1.205,9.573), being Female (AOR=0.39; 95% CI =0.158, 0.96), severity of illness (AOR=0.104; 95% CI =0.047,0.229) and availability of schools (AOR=7.812; 95% CI =3.012,20) were found to have significant association with school enrolment.
Conclusion: The enrollment of children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) in schools is notably lower compared to children with other forms of disability or those without any disability. Moreover, the children with NDD who do attend school often encounter various challenges and are not receiving the quality of education they should get.
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Enrollment and Associated Factors