Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: November | Volume: 11 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 62-69
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20211107
Assessment of Accessibility Preparation for People with Special Needs at Al Ahsa Mosques
Paramasivan Mani1, Senthil Vadivu2, Haidar Alshakhs3, Mohammed Alrashed4, Ali Almeaibed5, Anas Almulhim6, Nasser Almulhim7
1-7Occupational Therapy Program, College of Applied Medical Sciences - King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences– Al Ahsa
Corresponding Author: Paramasivan Mani
ABSTRACT
Introduction and Aim: Sala’ is one of the essentials of Islam religion that Muslims do five time a day. Praying in a mosque for many people is one of the important Activities of the daily living (ADL) that they engage in day-to-day basis. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has given the right to people with disability by legislations and mandatory rules to all public facilities to be accessible for the Special needs users. The goal of this study is to find the accessibility of mosques in Al ahsa region for Special needs users.
Method: The study design was a cross-sectional, descriptive study that surveyed wheelchair users and their caregivers, using google form. The study was conducted by a questionnaire type assessment, 12 questions were used to assess different aspects of accessibility to mosques, and using a Likert scale with five options (Very unsatisfied – Unsatisfied – Normal – Satisfied – Very satisfied. The questionnaire was reviewed by two occupational therapists and one physical therapist, to ensure content validity and reliability.
Result: Seventy wheelchair users and twenty caregivers participated in the study. The main reason for being confined to a wheelchair was a motor vehicle accident (31.43%). Overall, 74.29% of wheelchair users and 45% of caregivers expressed dissatisfaction with the mosques’ accessibility for Special needs users.
Conclusion: In the current state of the mosques in the Al ahsa were found to be not accessible for people with special needs.
Key words: Accessibility preparation, people with special needs, wheelchair users, Al Ahsa Mosques.