Seidu, Abdul-Aziz, Malau-Aduli, Bunmi S., McBain-Rigg, Kristin, Malau-Aduli, Aduli E.O., and Emeto, Theophilus I. (2023) "God is my only health insurance": a mixed-methods study on the experiences of persons with disability in accessing sexual and reproductive health services in Ghana. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. 1232046.

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Abstract

Background: Access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is a fundamental human right, but people with disabilities (PwDs) in low-and middle-income countries often face multiple barriers to utilisation. This study aimed to assess the level of SRH services utilisation and the enabling and inhibiting factors among PwDs in Ghana’s Ashanti region.

Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study design was employed, involving quantitative (n = 402) and qualitative (n = 37) data collection from PwDs. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: The study found that only 33.8% of the PwDs had ever used SRH services. Utilisation was associated with sex, marital status and travel duration to health facility. The qualitative data revealed that factors at the individual, family/community and health facility levels influenced utilisation of SRH services, acting as both enablers and barriers.

Conclusion: PwDs had relatively low utilisation of SRH services in Ghana’s Ashanti region. To increase utilisation, it is recommended to address the stigma and discrimination towards PwDs, provide more training for healthcare providers, improve the accessibility of healthcare facilities, and strengthen the national health insurance scheme. Further research could explore PwDs’ SRH outcomes and strategies to improve these outcomes in Ghana.

Item ID:	79412
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2296-2565
Copyright Information:	© 2023 Seidu, Malau-Aduli, McBain-Rigg, Malau-Aduli and Emeto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2023 02:01
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420602 Health equity @ 30% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420318 People with disability @ 40% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420204 Epidemiological methods @ 30%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200204 Health inequalities @ 60% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200407 Health status (incl. wellbeing) @ 40%
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