TRANSCRIPT
Interviewer: You have faced challenges due to a lack of medical practitioners in your area for your child who was diagnosed with Autism. And the treatments, for your child, require many trips to medical facilities. Can you tell me about how this has impacted you?
Amaka: After waiting almost a year, I was able to get my child in to see an Applied Behavioral Analysis therapist.
Amaka: And in order for me to take my child twice a week to Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy, I had to quit my job.
Amaka: So, I have not worked for 5 years.
EVIDENCE & RESEARCH
Barriers to getting care for children with autism abound. This is a story of a family in Nigeria that experiences the same issues as families in the United States.
A study in the United States concludes that: “Consistent with the use of a wide range of healthcare services across the lifespan, the cost of healthcare for individuals with ASD is very high. Indeed, recommended ASD
services are often excluded from insurance plans held by families with lower socioeconomic status (SES).”
“Families living outside metropolitan areas have less access to care for ASD than those in urban areas, often due to a shortage of specialists. Families that do not have access to care in their community are less likely to seek care due to the additional cost, time commitment and disruption to daily obligations (e.g., work) associated with long-distance travel.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-021-01465-y
Many caregivers of both children and adults find it difficult to engage in employed work while also managing their care obligations.
Parents of children with autism find it especially hard to manage their care and full-time employment.
According to a study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, “Caregivers who care for a person with emotional or mental health issues are more likely to make work accommodations (77% vs. 67% of those caring for someone with no emotional or mental health issues).”
”39% of caregivers leave their job to have more time to care for a loved one.
34% leave because their work does not provide flexible hours.”
https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-work-and-caregiving/
Location:
Nigeria
Barriers to Public Health: Financial Constraints, Health Care Provider Shortage, Location of facilities, Cost of Care
HEALTH CONVERSATIONS: When Aware We Care 