LIVED EXPERIENCES IN THE UTILISATION OF MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES AMONG WOMEN WITH HEARING DISABILITY IN KAMPALA DISTRICT

Abstract

Introduction: Women with hearing disabilities encounter significant barriers in accessing maternal healthcare, yet their lived experiences remain under-documented in Uganda. Communication challenges, negative attitudes from health workers, and lack of institutional support often limit their access to quality care, undermining maternal health outcomes. This study explored the perceptions, challenges, support systems, and coping mechanisms of women with hearing impairments in utilizing maternal health services in Kampala district. Methods: The study adopted an existential phenomenological design, guided by Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Utilization. Thirteen women aged 18–49 with hearing disabilities who had utilized antenatal, delivery, or postnatal services were purposively sampled from Starkey Hearing Foundation Uganda. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically using an inductive approach to generate themes that captured participants’ lived experiences. Findings: Four major themes emerged: (1) Perceptions of maternal health service provision indicated that women viewed services as designed mainly for abled mothers and reported low confidence in care accessibility; (2) Challenges/barriers to utilization included communication difficulties, absence of interpreters, stigma, discrimination, disrespect, and service delays were recurrent issues; (3) Support provided was mainly from spouses, family, and occasionally sympathetic health workers who played an essential role, though health system support remained minimal; and (4) Coping mechanisms showed that women relied on psychological preparation, disclosure of disability to health workers, use of hearing aids, and reliance on family or friends as informal interpreters. Conclusion: Maternal healthcare in Uganda is insufficiently inclusive for women with hearing impairments, leaving them vulnerable to poor health outcomes. Addressing these challenges requires disability sensitive service delivery, training of healthcare providers in sign language and respectful maternity care, and institutional provision of interpreters and assistive devices. The study offers evidence to guide policy reforms and interventions aimed at strengthening equity, advancing Universal Health Coverage, and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.