Supporting early communication skills of children with developmental disorders in South Africa : caregiver and clinician perspectives about mobile health applications
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Date
Authors
Bornman, Juan
Romski, MaryAnn
King, Marika
Madima, Vuledzani M.
Sevcik, Rose A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
Abstract
Using a mobile health application (i.e., app) to empower primary caregivers of young children with developmental disorders in low- and middle-income countries is opening up new avenues for early childhood intervention. Thirteen caregivers and 10 speech-language pathologists participated in 3 focus groups to explore their perspectives about the potential benefits and suitability of a mobile health app as part of intervention, its features, the likelihood of using and recommending it, as well as potential pitfalls to be avoided. Both participant groups were generally positive, although there was little overlap between their responses. Caregivers generally focused on increased knowledge and skills (of all family members), as well as on empowerment and reduced costs. Speech-language pathologists, on the other hand, focused on how current service delivery would be enriched by increasing the dosage of therapy and enhancing parental cooperation. They also expected that the reach of service delivery would be expanded as more children and caregivers could potentially benefit. Although technology (i.e., mobile apps) could open up new possibilities for service delivery in this population, the perspectives of all stakeholder groups should be considered to ensure successful adoption of such technologies.
Description
Keywords
Beginning communicators, Developmental disabilities, Early communication intervention, Focus groups, Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Mobile health technology, Parent training, Primary caregiver, Speech and language pathologist (SLP)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Bornman, J., Romski, M., King, M. et al. 2020, 'Supporting early communication skills of children with developmental disorders in South Africa: caregiver and clinician perspectives about mobile health applications', Infants and Young Children, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 313-331.