Healthcare providers’ perspectives of providing primary healthcare services to persons with physical disabilities in rural Ghana

Abstract

Background: A growing body of evidence has shown that persons with physical disabilities experience substantial barriers in accessing primary healthcare (PHC) services in rural areas. Negative attitudes from healthcare providers and inaccessible healthcare facilities and equipment are common experiences that negatively affect access to quality healthcare for persons with physical disabilities. However, there is limited research that explores this issue from the perspectives of healthcare providers. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of healthcare providers in delivering PHC services to persons with physical disabilities in rural Ghana. Understanding healthcare providers’ perspectives could help leverage previous findings from clients’ experiences to more fully inform the development of specific and actionable research and interventions to improve healthcare delivery for disabled people. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 healthcare providers and used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Results: Participants reported their perspectives in three major themes: challenges in providing healthcare (eg, limited availability of drugs and medical equipment, limited healthcare providers, financial constraints, and inaccessible facilities and equipment); strategies in navigating the challenges (eg, improvising techniques and employing professional values, referring clients, and providing financial assistance to clients); and positive experience in providing healthcare (eg, feeling rewarded and appreciated). Conclusion: The findings reinforce the need to consider the availability of rehabilitation professionals and services to address the specific healthcare needs of disabled people at the PHC level in Ghana. The findings also point to a need for further research on the perspectives of healthcare policymakers about how to navigate the systemic barriers encountered by providers in providing care to persons with physical disabilities in rural Ghana in particular, and other similar rural areas.

Health care providers’ and persons with disabilities’ recommendations for improving access to primary health care services in rural northern Ghana: A qualitative study

“…This article forms part of a larger doctoral study designed to understand disability and access to PHC services in rural areas. Some study findings have been reported elsewhere [10,14,15]. However, this article focuses on a dominant theme that emerged from the qualitative data analysis.…”

“…Similarly, the government introduced a national health insurance scheme as a health policy to make health care affordable thus increasing access to basic health care for all residents, including those with disabilities [12]. These policies, however, have not been translated into practice as growing evidence suggests that interactions between persons with disabilities and the health care system often culminate in access barriers such as lack of necessary services, financial constraints, inaccessible health care facilities and equipment, and negative attitudes from providers [12][13][14][15].…”

“…Previous research on disability and health in the Ghanaian context has contributed to knowledge on factors that facilitate or impede persons with disabilities' access to health care services [12][13][14][15]. These studies focused largely on either the perspectives of health care providers or persons with disabilities in general.…”

Acolhimento na Estratégia Saúde da Família: perspectivas das pessoas com deficiência no contexto rural

“…Revelaram ainda que as unidades foram projetadas sem considerar as necessidades de pessoas que utilizam dispositivos de assistência, como cadeira de rodas. 27 As dificuldades de acessibilidade aos serviços também, são reveladas pela carência de transporte fornecido pelo setor da saúde, que, muitas vezes, é demorado, além da necessidade de Acolhimento na Estratégia Saúde da Família: perspectivas das pessoas com deficiência...| 16 Rev. Enferm.…”

Pessoas com deficiência e as barreiras aos serviços de saúde: uma metassíntese

“…Médicos da família expressaram que existe uma incongruência entre a acessibilidade por eles percebida e a real, por não terem a compreensão completa sobre a acessibilidade e sobre as dificuldades das pessoas com deficiência (McMillan et al, 2016). Nesse contexto, os prestadores admitem que a inacessibilidade das instalações e acomodações são barreiras que limitam a prestação de cuidados (Banks et al, 2017;Dassah et al, 2019;McMillan et al, 2016;Mitra et al, 2017;Sonalkar et al, 2020).…”