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Sociodemographic and Clinical Profile of Patients Receiving Disability Certificates as per Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 for Psychiatric, Neurological, and Neurosurgical Disorders at Tertiary Care Centre

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Abstract

In India, Rights of persons with disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 recognizes 21 disabilities including 12 disabilities which were not present in Person with disabilities Act 1995. Disability certificate (DC) is necessary to avail benefits under the RPWD Act 2016. To study socio-demographic and clinical profile of patients who were issued DC as per RPWD Act 2016 for psychiatric, neurological, and neurosurgical disorders. The study was carried out at National Institute for Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. Socio-demographic and clinical details of patients who were issued DC for 2107 and 2018 were retrieved from hospital register, case files and e-hospital portal. A total of 2448 DC were issued in 2017 and 2018. Among DC issued, records of 2376 patients could be retrieved for the study. 95% of certificates were issued for patients from same state where our centre is located. Two thirds of patients were male. Most DC were issued for intellectual disability (51.9%) and mental illness (39%), chronic neurological conditions (5.1%), autism (1.1%), and muscular dystrophy (0.9%). Stroke (1.7%) was most common chronic neurological condition to be certified. Though the institute caters to more than 4 lakhs patients annually, only around 1200 DC are issued per year. There is considerable variation among units/consultant in same department who initiate disability certification. Patients, caregivers, and health professionals need to be sensitized about the disability certification process and available welfare benefits.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the institute and hospital administration of NIMHANS for support. The authors thank Dr Jagadisha Thirthalli, Professor of Psychiatry and Dr Krishna Prasad M, Additional Professor of Psychiatry for offering valuable inputs to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bengaluru, 29, India

    Prabhu Jadhav & Thanapal Sivakumar

  2. Department of Neurological Rehabilitation, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India

    Anupam Gupta

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  1. Prabhu Jadhav
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  2. Thanapal Sivakumar
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Correspondence to Thanapal Sivakumar.

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Jadhav, P., Sivakumar, T. & Gupta, A. Sociodemographic and Clinical Profile of Patients Receiving Disability Certificates as per Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 for Psychiatric, Neurological, and Neurosurgical Disorders at Tertiary Care Centre. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health 8, 29–34 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-020-00196-3

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