Visualization for Decision Making: a study on psychosocial functioning and mental health among children in low and middle-income countries.

Abstract

Data Visualization (DV) is the representation and presentation of data, such as graphs and maps, that tap into our visual perception abilities to increase understanding and favouring decision-making. The objective of this work was to use DV to shed light on psychosocial functioning and mental health, in low and middle-income countries where there is still a lack of research. The databases used in this study were obtained from UNICEF. The databases were drawn from a large global research project in low- and middle-income countries. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) program is a source of statistically sound and internationally comparable data on children and women worldwide. Questionnaire for Children Ages 5-17 from MICS (Round 6) from 58 countries were utilised for this DV. Results: Vietnam has the lowest rate of 2.9% of the population of children and adolescents has some disability. In comparison, in Afghanistan, 36.2% of the population of children and adolescents responding to the survey were affected by a disability in one or more domains surveyed. Among the 51 analysed countries, in only 8, the difficulty in the field of anxiety is not in the first place, and in 5 of the eight, it appears in second place. Risk of depression appear in second position in 43 countries, ranking first in Bangladesh and third in 6 other countries: Sao Tome and Principe, North Macedonia, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Analysis illustrates that African and Asian countries have the highest rates of violent discipline among children and adolescents with disabilities aged 5 to 14 years old. Although the reality of child labour in countries with few resources is expected, the percentage of children with disabilities exceeds that of children without difficulties in almost all fields surveyed, which is quite alarming. This DV sheds light on the contribution of each of the 13 disability domains in the composition of groups of children, with the domains on anxiety and depression contributing enormously to estimates on childhood disabilities. Conclusion: Public policy decision makers can make the best possible decisions for resource allocation and public health planning if they do it by making informed decisions facilitated by DV. They can do so based on a thorough understanding of the factors influencing different populations and the efficacy of potential interventions in enabling promoting human rights of children with disabilities.