Strengthening parental capabilities: Consensus-based guidelines for supporting parents of children with developmental disabilities – A modified hybrid Delphi study

South African Family Practice

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Strengthening parental capabilities: Consensus-based guidelines for supporting parents of children with developmental disabilities – A modified hybrid Delphi study
 
Creator Magidigidi-Mathiso, Lumka Frantz, Jose Filies, Gerard
 
Subject Family studies, primary healthcare, general practice, policy making developmental disabilities; parental capabilities; Delphi technique; interdisciplinary approach; consensus-based guidelines; family-centred care; Nussbaum’s capabilities framework; South Africa.
Description Background: Families of children with developmental disabilities (DD) experience compounding barriers to accessing coordinated, holistic support. Services are typically fragmented across healthcare, education and social sectors, particularly in resource-limited settings such as South Africa. To develop consensus-based guidelines for strengthening parental capabilities among parents of children with DD through an interdisciplinary approach integrating evidence across multiple fields.Methods: A modified hybrid three-round Delphi technique was employed with an expert panel (n = 10) comprising professionals with diverse backgrounds in paediatric disability care. Consensus was established through iterative questionnaires exploring capability domains based on Capabilities Framework.Results: Five key capability domains achieved strong consensus (≥ 80%): life enhancement, bodily health support, emotional wellbeing, affiliation strengthening and environmental control. Final round consensus ranged from 90% to 95%.Conclusion: Comprehensive consensus-based guidelines were developed for each domain, alongside an implementation framework that emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration. The study is contextually situated in South Africa; contextual adaptation is recommended before application elsewhere, given the small expert panel (n = 10) and single-country scope.Contribution: These guidelines provide a structured, capability-focused approach addressing the practical and emotional needs of parents of children with DD through coordinated professional collaboration.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor National Research Foundation, South Africa
Date 2026-06-10
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Delphi Method
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/safp.v68i1.6321
 
Source South African Family Practice; Vol 68, No 1 (2026): Part 3; 9 pages 2078-6204 2078-6190
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6321/10547 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6321/10548 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6321/10549 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6321/10550
 
Coverage Western Cape, South Africa 2015-2025 0-18 years, Male and Female, all races, Parents of children with disabilities
Rights Copyright (c) 2026 Lumka Magidigidi-Mathiso, Jose Frantz, Gerard Filies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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