Socioeconomic Factors Hindering Access to Healthcare by  Persons with Disabilities in the Ahanta West Municipality, Ghana

Henry Abuaku Howard; Anastasia Baisiwa Rhule

doi:10.47985/dcidj.419

Socioeconomic Factors Hindering Access to Healthcare by Persons with Disabilities in the Ahanta West Municipality, Ghana

Authors

Henry Abuaku Howard Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Anastasia Baisiwa Rhule Ahanta West Municipal Assembly

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47985/dcidj.419

Keywords:

Socio-economic, persons with disability, municipality

Abstract

Purpose: An estimated 15% of the world’s population lives with disabilities of various types and 80% of them are in low-income countries, with limited or no access to basic services including healthcare and rehabilitation facilities. The general objective of the study was to determine the socioeconomic factors that hinder access to quality healthcare by persons with disabilities in the Ahanta West Municipality of Ghana.

Method: A qualitative study was carried out. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants (persons with disabilities and healthcare workers). Data was collected through 10 in-depth interviews with health workers and 5 focus group discussions with persons with disabilities. Data was analysed based on the themes that emerged during the discussions.

Results: The major social factors found to hinder access to quality healthcare were cultural explanations of disability and its causes, stigmatisation, and attitudes of healthcare workers towards persons with disabilities. The economic factors that created barriers include costs of treatment and assistive devices, unemployment, poverty, and transportation problems.

Conclusion: A review of national health policy programmes and their implementation to ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are adequately catered for. This study reveals that the current health policies and subsequent health services are not adequately considering the needs of persons with disabilities. It is recommended also, that there is the need for a change in attitude by the general public towards persons with disabilities. This in particular is a role of influential stakeholders such as government and NGOs engaging on effective public education to bring to the notice of the general public the meaning and cause of disability in order to reduce the way at which disability is explained from a cultural point of view.

Author Biographies

Henry Abuaku Howard, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Howard holds an M.Sc. degree in Disability, Rehabilitation and Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. His interest areas are: Disability rights advocacy, disability education and prevention.

Anastasia Baisiwa Rhule, Ahanta West Municipal Assembly

Rhule has a B.A. degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,Kumasi and works with the Social Welfare Department of the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly. She is a Social Welfare Officer and supports persons with disabilities.

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Published

2021-07-29

How to Cite

Howard HA, Rhule AB. Socioeconomic Factors Hindering Access to Healthcare by Persons with Disabilities in the Ahanta West Municipality, Ghana. DCIDJ [Internet]. 2021 Jul. 29 [cited 2024 Nov. 21];32(2):69-87. Available from: https://dcidj.uog.edu.et/index.php/up-j-dcbrid/article/view/419

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Issue

Vol. 32 No. 2 (2021): Summer

Section

Original Research Articles

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DCIDJ has been moved from Liliane Foundation to the University of Gondar

July 31, 2023

We are pleased to inform you that the Disability, CBR, and Inclusive Development Journal (DCIDJ) has moved from the Liliane Foundation (https://dcidj.org) to the University of Gondar (https://dcidj.uog.edu.et). The University of Gondar is the only university that owns the CBR Program in Ethiopia. The CBR program was established in 2005 in partnership with Light for the World and Save the Children to alleviate various problems faced by persons with disabilities due to lack of access to rehabilitation services and community awareness. The University of Gondar (Ethiopia) and Queen’s University (Canada), supported by the Mastercard Foundation, have developed a 10-year partnership to advance inclusive higher education for young people with disabilities, develop new occupational therapy programs, and advance research for inclusive education and community-based rehabilitation in Africa. Hence, the University of Gondar is an excellent fit to manage the journal as it has extensive experience in the field of disability, CBR, and inclusive development.

The DCIDJ is an online journal with a 33-year-old history of publishing research in the broad field of rehabilitation and disability inclusion. It is an open-access journal that aims to provide a platform for high-quality and innovative research that includes a diverse range of perspectives, including academics, researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students. The journal covers topics such as disability rights, inclusive education, community-based rehabilitation, disability and development, and more. The journal is a quarterly publication that will be available online in four issues per year. We would like to acknowledge the good relationship with the Liliane Foundation and Enablement who chose the University of Gondar as a sustainable base as this university is one of the leading universities in Ethiopia in the field of disability, development, and rehabilitation. This is a positive step towards enhancing the dissemination and impact of research and knowledge in the CBR/CBID community.