Seidu, Abdul-Aziz, Malau-Aduli, Bunmi S., McBain-Rigg, Kristin, Malau-Aduli, Aduli E.O., and Emeto, Theophilus I. (2023) "Sex Should Not Be Part of the Lives of Persons with Disabilities, but They Are Human Beings Too": Perceptions of Healthcare Providers and Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Ghana. Healthcare, 11 (7). 1041.

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Abstract

Persons with disabilities (PwDs) constitute about 16% of the global population and face many challenges in every society, including access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. The attitudes of healthcare providers (HPs) exert a major influence on PwDs accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH). A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of HPs towards PwDs and SRH delivery in Ghana’s Ashanti region. Quantitative data analysis indicated that overall, 82% of HPs had received information on disability-related issues and had relatively positive attitude towards PwDs, which varied across sub-scales of the Attitude Towards Disability score and associated with their sociodemographic characteristics. HPs faced several challenges in SRH services delivery to PwDs, which included a lack of funding and training, and inadequate staff. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed eight overarching themes. The findings revealed that HPs had prejudice about the mental and sexual health abilities of PwDs. Inadequate skill set, inadequate resources, and limited funding were major challenges identified. Nonetheless, compassion and benevolence towards PwDs, improvision, economic and educational support, awareness creation, and referrals were strategies adopted to overcome these challenges. Mandatory training of HPs is recommended to ensure improved SRH service delivery to PwDs. Future research could explore the perceptions and coping strategies of PwDs.

Item ID:	79125
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2227-9032
Related URLs:	Publisher
Copyright Information:	© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Date Deposited:	21 Jun 2023 03:27
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420204 Epidemiological methods @ 30% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420603 Health promotion @ 20% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420318 People with disability @ 50%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2003 Provision of health and support services > 200302 Community health care @ 30% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200403 Disability and functional capacity @ 40% 20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200204 Health inequalities @ 30%
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