Available Rights of Persons with Disabilities from Their Mothers' Perspectives in Zagazig City

Abstract

Context: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has a profound influence on disability law and human rights law globally.
Aim: To assess the available rights of persons with disabilities from their mothers' perspectives in Zagazig City.
Methods: The study was conducted in 3 schools of persons with a disability; El-Nour School for Blind, El-Amal School for Deaf and Hard hearing, and School of Mental disability in Zagazig City, using a descriptive design. It involved 171 mothers of students with disabilities. The data collection tools were an interview guide concerned with demographic data and disability types and the right of the person with a disability scale that assessed the available rights of persons with disabilities from their mothers’ perspectives.

Results: The results showed that 67.4% of the students with disabilities were males, and 66.7% were aged 6-12 years. 42.1% of the students were mentally retarded, while 35.1% were deaf and 22.8% were blind. All mothers were housewives regardless of their educational level. 68.0% of the mothers said that all rights generally were unavailable, while 23.8% said that the rights were available in part, and 8.1% mentioned that right is available.

Conclusion: There is a gap between the rights of the PWDs in the Act and the implementation of these rights in real life, as stated by the mothers of the current study. The present study recommends increasing public and society awareness about PWDs through mass media and health education programs. Community health nurses should advocate for the PWDs and act as a liaison between them and governmental organizations to activate the law of PWDs and meet the PWDS needs.