Evidence-informed stakeholder consultations to promote rights-based approaches for children with disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: To strengthen the translation of evidence to actionable policy, stakeholder engagement is necessary to synthesize, prioritize and contextualize the academic research content into accessible language. In this manuscript we describe a multi-level evidence-based stakeholder consultation process and related outcomes proposed to promote awareness of and foster cross-sectorial collaborations towards human rights-based approaches for children with disabilities.

Methods: Mixed-methods participatory action research done in three steps: (1) A literature review of peer-reviewed evidence on rights-based approaches in childhood disabilities; (2) Consultation with researchers in diverse fields, grassroot organizations, caregivers, and youth with disabilities; (3) A constructive dialogue with decision makers at federal and provincial levels in Canada to discuss consultations results.

Results: Stakeholders value human rights approaches that can have a direct impact on practical aspects of their daily living. Organizations give high importance to adopting rights-based approaches to measure policy outcomes, while parents value service provision and youth emphasize accessibility.

Conclusion: The implementation of rights-based approaches in childhood disabilities can support policy, services, and daily lives of children with disabilities and the ecosystems around them. It can also guide research priorities, and create a common language to foster collaborations across sectors and interested parties.

Keywords: childhood disability; disability rights; health; human rights; knowledge translation; participatory research; policy.