A Low-intensity Approach for Early Intervention and Detection of Childhood Disability in Central Java: Long-term Findings and Implications for “Inclusive Development”
Abstract
Purpose: This paper describes a qualitative follow-up study, conducted eight years after completion of a low-intensity early intervention and detection of childhood disability project in Central Java, Indonesia. The original project sought to increase the level of skills and engagement of existing community health volunteers, for the support of children with disabilities. This followup study explored long-term outcomes and implications for the inclusive development approach.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 of the original volunteers. Interview notes were translated and thematically categorised.
Results: While the study was qualitative and descriptive, results indicate that despite the low intensity of the project, some early detection and prevention activities were still going on eight years later.
Conclusions: The study suggests that a low-intensity initiative such as this, which is closely aligned with the goals of a government department, may indeed achieve some ongoing change by extending the focus of the department towards disability-related concerns.
Implications: Implications are drawn for the emerging area of “inclusive development”, which similarly seeks to promote change in mainstream services for the benefit of people with disabilities.
Full text article
Authors
Copyright (c) 2012 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).