The study, the first of its kind in India, is being carried out by the International Clinical Epidemiology Network Trust, which works on improving health care research in the developing world. The network's executive director, pediatrician Narendra K. Arora, said the study will begin diagnosis on a sample population after the monsoon, and should provide the first concrete sense of the extent of neurological disabilities in India by early next year.
- Noah Seelam/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
- A physiotherapist assists a child at a rehabilitation centre in Hyderabad on the eve of World Disability Day.
The University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin are partners in the study.
Dr. Arora said the reported incidence of neurological development disorders in India appears to be extremely low compared to other countries with better diagnosis programs.
"The census-administered data is around 2% of population," said Dr. Arora, adding that developed countries report rates at closer to 10% to 15%. "Certainly it is underestimated in India."
A 2007 World Bank study said that some estimates suggest that the Indian population with disabilities could be between 40 million and 90 million, or between 4% and 8% of the population at the time.
In the first phase of the disabilities study, which should begin around September, the study will look at 6,000 children at eight sites across the country, said Dr. Arora, and in the second phase it [...]
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