Dr. Esther Malm, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Murray State University, and a team of international researchers, have been awarded a grant to study community healthcare practices used for children with developmental disabilities in the western African country of Ghana.
The grant was awarded by the Oakland University School of Health Sciences to the team of five multidisciplinary collaborators: Dr. Kwame Sakyi from Oakland University in Michigan; Maria Hartley, a public health nurse with the Center for Learning and Childhood Development in Ghana; Dr. Emily Hurley from the University of Missouri at Kansas City; Dr. Adote Anum of the University of Ghana; and Malm.
The team will be studying the effectiveness of a process called "Our Peer Empowerment and Navigations Support" (OP-ENS), which, in theory, will help people with disabilities navigate barriers. Their initial goal will include the first steps of harnessing the feedback of parents, their children, and other stakeholders in adapting the navigation system into a culturally acceptable and effective tool for Ghanian children with developmental disabilities.
Malm will be providing culturally-specific knowledge of parent-child engagement in Ghana and familial environments that produce an impactful outcome. She will be supporting the community advisory board to create parent and nurturing care-based content for the project.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, data collection for the study is being delayed until Ghana approves freedom of movement. Once this resumes, team members will meet on Skype to discuss their progress.
Malm has been with Murray State's Department of Psychology since 2017, and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. Her research typically focuses on studying parent factors, the parenting process, and the effects on child and adolescent well-being.
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