Information Needs and Resources Preferred by Guardians of Children With Severe Disabilities: A Case Study in Malaysia

Authors

  • Norhayati Baba Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor, Puncak Perdana Campus, Shah Alam
  • Wan Satirah Wan Mohd Saman Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor, Puncak Perdana Campus, Shah Alam
  • Norhayati Hussin Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor, Puncak Perdana Campus, Shah Alam
  • Norshila Saifuddin Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor, Puncak Perdana Campus, Shah Alam
  • Wan Nor Haliza Wan Mohktar Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor, Puncak Perdana Campus, Shah Alam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26713/jims.v9i4.990

Keywords:

children with severe disabilities, children, information needs, information sources, guardians

Abstract

This paper extends the information needs and information sources preferred by guardians of children with severe disabilities in managing their children. This research aims to explore the information needs and sources preferred by guardians of children with severe disabilities in Klang valley, Malaysia. The study focused on both personal lives and broader social contexts. Eight common information sources were identified. This paper concentrates on two information sources. Findings showed guardians relied heavily on professional advice. Issues of information needs and information sources preferred by guardians of children with severe disabilities were discussed. Most guardians of children with severe disabilities referred to professionals as their non-printed sources of information, as well as printed sources like newspapers, popular magazines, and pamphlets as their additional information sources. Implications of the findings, study limitations, and recommendation are discussed. A conclusion is that guardians of children with severe disabilities deserve to be provided with a range of ways of meeting their information needs. It is hoped that this study will encourage policy-makers and information service providers to adopt a more holistic approach to meet the needs of families of children with severe disabilities in Malaysian setting.

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Published

2017-12-30
CITATION

How to Cite

Baba, N., Saman, W. S. W. M., Hussin, N., Saifuddin, N., & Mohktar, W. N. H. W. (2017). Information Needs and Resources Preferred by Guardians of Children With Severe Disabilities: A Case Study in Malaysia. Journal of Informatics and Mathematical Sciences, 9(4), 1165–1174. https://doi.org/10.26713/jims.v9i4.990

Issue

Section

Research Articles