The social assistance needs of children with chronic health conditions : the application and comparison of two international instruments in the South African context

Abstract

Children with chronic health conditions in South Africa are a vulnerable group of children, whose additional needs resulting from their condition places financial strain on their caregivers and families. Poverty plays a significant role, and often exacerbates the situation for these children and their caregivers. They are a group of children who require additional assistance from the State - social assistance (a term used for financial aid in South Africa) is one form of support that can be extended to these children. The present social assistance provisioning for these children Iimited, and assessment processes and instruments are unsatisfactory. This study is an examination of the application of international social assistance assessment instruments to the South African context, namely the Australian Child Disability Assessment Tool and the United Kingdom's Disability Living Allowance Claim Form. The study purposed to make recommendations for the development of an appropriate South African social assistance assessment instrument. Secondly, it aimed to demonstrate through the application of these international tools that there are areas of need related to chronic health conditions that are presently not provided for by the current South African social assistance programme. The study design assumed the form of a descriptive, comparative study of existing international instruments. Non-probability sampling was employed, and the findings of the study are analysed via a combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis.