CDEVEM · Understanding parents' perspective on childhood disability. Strengthening expertise through qualitative validation of an explanatory model

ObjectiveThe researcher's specific expertise in the sociological approach of disability issues will be placed within the larger framework of Disability Studies. More specific, his key competencies in childhood disability research will be further developed through qualitative validation in Iceland of his recently developed explanatory model for care-related decision-making in parents of congenitally deaf children. This will be guided by the following specific research objectives: (1)to investigate the relevance and importance of the different clusters and factors in the explanatory model, including addition of new relevant factors; (2)to assess the relations in the model between different clusters and factors, and to make additions/modifications where necessary; (3)to assess the implementation of the model for analysing parents’ experiences throughout the care trajectories within a specific national context – in casu Iceland.ImplementationThis research training project is based on qualitative data to be collected among Icelandic parents with a deaf child born 1998-2010, through 2 rounds of semi-structured interviews. Theoretical and methodological training will be centred around qualitative data analysis aimed at providing insight into how parents arrive at care-related decisions, which factors play a role in decision making and how these are interrelated. Also, using the model, the specific organisation of national early intervention services will be analysed.Scientific and career valueDevelopment of frameworks for sociological analysis of parents' perspectives in issues of childhood disability an important challenge in European disability research. This mobility proposal also enables the researcher to build on his an innovative explanatory model. The activities in this proposal will strengthen his expertise in development of middle-range theory in Disability Studies, innovative qualitative methodology, and management of networks of local stakeholders.