Browsing by Author "Gorreti Aanyu"

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Health Facility readiness to accomodate physically disabled expectant women in soroti city
(Uganda Christian University, 2025-09-12) Gorreti Aanyu
Introduction: The care for disabled people especially the disabled expectant mothers is a very big challenge in most health facilities in Uganda today. The readiness to accommodate the physically disabled people in most health care facilities especially in the public facilities has continued to pose a challenge for both the medical personnel and the caretakers of the disabled beneficiaries of these services. This study aims at assessing the health facilities’ readiness to accommodate physically disabled expectant women in Soroti City. Methods: This was qualitative research with phenomenological study design and three methods for data collection were used. (1). In-depth interviews involving 10 midwives from 10 health facilities within Soroti City. (2). Feedback sessions from 60 physically disabled expectant mothers on the services acquired from the various health centres. (3). Observations of both on-going activities within the health facilities where the physically disabled expectant mothers receive services from and review of the existing records and data collection books. All these techniques were used in the data collection process for both the primary and secondary data. Results: The findings from 60 respondents and the 10 midwives as the sample from the total target population in the health facilities revealed greater insights into the readiness of these facilities to accommodate these physically disabled expectant women in Soroti City. More specifically, the research identified four main factors/challenges that influence the ability for the facilities to accommodate these physically disabled expectant women including: poor physical accessibility, language barrier, negative attitudes of health workers and long queues at the health facilities. The midwives also experience a lot challenges when providing care to physically disabled expectant women especially in the provision of ANC, Labour, Emergencies, Post-natal, and mobility within the facility. These challenges include: language barrier, poor attitude of the women, poor response to post antenatal services, shortage of assistance devices such as wheel chairs, crutches, and beds that do not support them in delivery. Conclusion: The health facilities are ready to accommodate disable expectant women to a small/limited extent. The study therefore recommends that in order for physically disabled expectant women with disabilities to enjoy their rights, there is need for certain measures to be put in place which include: awareness on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and disability, improving physical access to medical facilities, staff development among medical personnel, and adapting materials to fit persons with disabilities.