Community-based primary care approaches to supporting families of children with developmental disabilities: experts' perspectives using the capabilities framework

Abstract

Background: Families raising children with developmental disabilities face complex, interconnected challenges requiring coordinated support across multiple professional domains. While interdisciplinary collaboration is widely endorsed in policy and practice guidelines, significant knowledge gaps exist regarding how healthcare professionals operationalise these collaborative approaches in real-world settings. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using individual semi-structured interviews with 12 experts representing diverse disciplines. The study was grounded in the Capabilities Approach as both a theoretical lens and a methodological framework. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis, with the Capabilities Approach framework informing each analytical phase. Results: Five major themes emerged from the capability-guided analysis: facilitating emotional transformation, building system navigation competence, creating inclusive participation opportunities, strengthening family functioning and fostering adaptive identity development. Across all themes, participants consistently emphasised three critical mechanisms for effective interdisciplinary support: coordinated care delivery as capability enhancement, comprehensive emotional support as capability development and whole-family capability strengthening interventions. Conclusion: The findings highlight the significance of interdisciplinary approaches informed by the Capabilities Approach in providing comprehensive support for parents of children with developmental disabilities. Rather than traditional deficit-focused models, participants systematically described how they enhance family capabilities by functioning as capability facilitators who orchestrate conversion factors, build emotional capabilities while respecting family agency and create environmental modifications that expand family possibilities. Contribution: This study contributes a novel capability-focused framework for understanding interdisciplinary collaboration in developmental disability support, moving beyond traditional service coordination models to emphasise systematic capability enhancement approaches that build sustainable family strengths across multiple domains simultaneously.