Awareness of Speech and Language Therapy amongst Pakistani women in Edinburgh Alia Yasin* and Ineke...
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Awareness of Speech and Language Therapy amongst Pakistani women in Edinburgh
Alia Yasin* and Ineke Mennen***NHS Forth Valley, **Bangor University
Overview:Background• Awareness of healthcare• Attitudes towards disability
The aim of the studyThe methodologyThe resultsThe conclusion
Awareness of healthcare• Research shows importance of parental
involvement/awareness▫ identifying difficulties in child’s development▫ benefits the therapy process
• Many parents from ethnic minority backgrounds disadvantaged by lack of knowledge of and ability to use health system (e.g. Crutchley et al. 1997; Stow and Dodd, 2003)
• They often “did not know how to access professionals’ help, were not aware that they needed to, or were not willing to do so” (Crutchley, 2000, p72).
Attitudes towards disability/disorder• Disability stigmatised among some cultures,
presenting a barrier between those who need help and those who can provide it (Glogowska, 1998)
• Different cultures have varying perceptions of childhood difficulties which may affect parental expectation of language development (Law, 1992).
• Some cultures put blame on child with communication difficulty (Bebout and Arthur, 1992)
• These attitudes are sometimes taken to explain low service uptake amongst minority ethnic families.
Why Pakistani females?• Pakistanis form the largest minority ethnic group
in Edinburgh (Census, 2001; Mennen & Stansfield, 2006)
• Culturally, it is the female members of this group who tend to provide the day to day care of children
• There is no specific information about SLT service awareness in this group, but it is thought that attitudes towards disability in Asian families (Beresford et al. 1996) causes lower service uptake in this minority ethnic group (Bywaters, 2003)
Target population• 90%Punjab province in Pakistan (Pakistan Society
of Edinburgh)• 1/3 housewives completed questionnaire in Urdu
• Language spoken most often with family:▫36% Urdu▫34% English▫30% Punjabi
• Other languages:▫40% Urdu▫17% Punjabi▫35% English▫2% Pahari/Mirpuri▫6% none
Aim• To investigate awareness of childhood
communication difficulties and the SLT service provision in Pakistani females in Edinburgh • To investigate attitudes towards disability in
this ethnic minority group, which may affect their willingness to seek professional input• Establishing levels of awareness and
attitudes towards disability would inform attempts to empower this particular group to access SLT services
Methodology• Questionnaires and interviews with 110
Pakistani females, aged 16 and over• Participants contacted through visiting weekly
social gatherings within the Pakistani community, such as Nari Kallyan Shagho (NKS)
• Four main areas investigated: Participant descriptors (occupation, age,
whether or not they have children) Awareness of child speech and language
development and communication difficulties Awareness of Speech and Language Therapy Attitudes towards communication impairment
Results• Majority (52%) of women
would expect a child to start talking by age 1
• More so in women with children
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Yes NO
Children
No children
Child talking at age 1?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Normal Difficulty
Children
No children
Child not talking at age 2 is…
• Majority (66%) considers a child not talking by age of two as having a difficulty
• More so in women with children
• Most awareness of hearing impairment, followed by▫ learning
difficulties▫ dysfluency▫ Down’s
syndrome▫ dyslexia▫ autism
• Housewives were generally least aware (except hearing impairment)
0102030405060708090
housewives professionals students
Communication difficulties
Awareness of SLT service
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Yes No
Children No Children
0
20
40
60
80
100
Yes No
Housewives Professionals Students
0
20
40
60
80
100
Yes No
18-25 26-35 36-45 46+
Perceived role of SLT
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Teach
er
Psycholo
gist
Nurse
Comm.En
hancer
Biling
ual su
pport a
ss.
Interpre
ter
Children No Children
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Teach
er
Psycholo
gist
Nurse
Comm.En
hancer
Biling
ual su
pport a
ss.
Interpre
ter
Housewives Professionals Students
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Teacher
Psycholo
gist Nurse
Comm. Enhancer
Bilingual s
upport ass.
Interpreter
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
Attitudes towards seeking professional advice
0
20
40
60
80
100
Yes No Not sure
18-25 26-35 36-45 46+• In answer to the question
Would you seek professional advice if a difficulty is suspected? the majority (90%) of respondents said yes
• A total of 13% would not seek professional advice, they were all in the age group 46+
• “...the health visitor is professional advice, but motherly advice is advice given with experience so it’s comforting...both are important”.
Attitude towards seeking professional advice
0
20
40
60
80
100
Happy Uncertain Afraid Ashamed
18-25 26-35 36-45 46+
0
20
40
60
80
Happy Uncertain Afraid Ashamed
Housewives Professionals Students
0
20
40
60
80
Happy Uncertain Afraid Ashamed
Children No children
Feelings of shame•All interviewees showed an understanding
of why people feel ashamed with comments such as:▫“...culturally in Pakistan if there’s a problem
they try sort it out internally...it is taboo, but prayer alone can’t solve everything”
▫“...my daughter just had mumps...everyone would stare making me feel uncomfortable and feeling the need to explain it was just mumps all the time...no one wants their child to be stared at like that”.
Summary of results• Large no. of women aware of the SLT service, but
lower awareness of exact role of SLT• Lower awareness of speech & language
development and causes of communication difficulties
• Significant number would be ashamed to seek help• Particularly older women & housewives
• Most would seek professional advice, but a significant number would turn to a family member instead.
• Results from the questionnaires & interviews complement each other.
Conclusion• Overall good level of awareness – 70%• Confusion around exact role and communication
difficulties.• Established foundation level of awareness of
SLT service and communication difficulties, and attitudes towards disability.• Further research on how to increase awareness
& involvement• Identify groups at risk
• Research on most appropriate means of gaining new information to increase awareness & involvement