Abstract:
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank have expressed concerns in the
"World Report on Disability" about global disability issues, including public participation and
service accessibility. In Kenya, individuals with disabilities face significant barriers, with
Turkana County reporting participation rates below 1%. This highlights the urgent need for
more research on access to services for persons with disabilities. The purpose of the study was
to establish the influence of information technology on access to government business
opportunities by persons with disabilities in the Turkana County government. The objective of
the study was to establish the influence of information technology on access to government
business opportunities by persons with disabilities in the Turkana County government. The
study considered the trait and factor theory of occupation choice and adopted mixed research
design. The study targeted 586 persons with disabilities living in Turkana central Sub- County
and who are operating business with county government of Turkana. The participants in the
study were selected through a simple random sampling technique. Data collection was through
questionnaires and interview schedules administered to nine officials from Turkana Central
Sub-County. The validity of the instruments was assessed by experts from the School of
Education and Social Sciences. A pilot study was conducted involving 10% of the target
population. The reliability of the instruments was determined using Cronbach's alpha, with a
coefficient r exceeding 0.7. Qualitative data for the research will be derived from the interview
schedules, which was analyzed thematically, and the results presented in a narrative format.
Descriptive analysis was employed for the data, with quantitative data analyzed using SPSS.
Findings revealed that information technology is a significant factor influencing access to
county government business opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The study revealed
a significant positive correlation between information technology and access to county
government business opportunities, with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.491 and a p-value of
less than 0.001. The study emphasizes the necessity of providing in information technology
skills for persons with disabilities to improve their access to county government business
opportunities.
