
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic abnormality worldwide.
This preliminary study aims to assess the attitude of society toward DS
people and the understanding of their health and education status in the
Pashtun population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The study
sample was DS people (no. 108) and their parents/guardians (no. 108)
belonging to different province areas. Information was collected on a
predesigned questionnaire by trained professionals. P? 0.05 was considered
significant. The overall response of the study population was positive
(mean=4.066, SD=0.99). However, no significant difference appeared in the
categorical analysis for sex, age group, location, and education level of the
respondents. The result indicated that cardiovascular disease was the most
common disease in DS people (7.4%). Further, 82.4% of the DS people were
not enrolled in any school. Although the overall attitude toward DS people
is very positive in the Pashtun population, the province's national social
system cannot support disabled people appropriately. Policies should be
made for these people on the provincial and national levels to reduce their
dependency on the family.
Keywords: Intellectual disability, Attitude, Congenital disorders, Health
status, Education.