Situational analysis of communication of HIV and AIDS information to persons with visual impairment: a case of Kang’onga Production Centre in Ndola, Zambia

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the increases in health promotion and educational programs on HIV and AIDS, lack of information and communication on HIV and AIDS for the visually impaired persons continues. The underlying factors that create the information and communication gaps have not been fully explored in Zambia. It is therefore important that, this situational analysis on HIV and AIDS information dissemination to persons with visual impairments at Kang’onga Production Centre in Ndola was conducted. The study commenced in December 2014 to May 2015.MethodsA qualitative case study design was employed. The study used two focus group discussions with males and females. Each group comprised twelve participants. Eight in-depth interviews involving the visually impaired persons and five key informants working with visually impaired persons were conducted. Data was analysed thematically using NVIVO 8 software. Ethical clearance was sought from Excellency in Research Ethics and Science. Reference Number 2014-May-030.ResultsIt was established that most visually impaired people lacked knowledge on the cause, transmission and treatment of HIV and AIDS resulting in misconceptions. It was revealed that health promoters and people working with the visually impaired did not have specific HIV and AIDS information programs in Zambia. Further, it was discovered that the media, information education communication and health education were channels through which the visually impaired accessed HIV and AIDS information. Discrimination, stigma, lack of employment opportunities, funding and poverty were among the many challenges identified which the visually impaired persons faced in accessing HIV and AIDS information. Integration of the visually impaired in HIV and AIDS programs would increase funding for economic empowerment and health promotions in order to improve communication on HIV and AIDS information. The study showed that, the visually impaired persons in Zambia are not catered for in the dissemination of HIV and AIDS information. Available information is not user-friendly because it is in unreadable formats thereby increasing the potential for misinformation and limitations to their access. This calls for innovations in the communication on HIV and AIDS information health promotion to the target groups.

Barriers to accessing primary healthcare services for people with disabilities in low and middle-income countries, a Meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

“…The real and perceived level of dependence can have both positive and negative impact on both people with disabilities and their caregivers, and may further influence their decision making and prioritization for seeking healthcare services. For instance, a number of the studies indicated that people with disabilities feel less valued by their family members and that they are left to fend for themselves in finding the resources to access services, including health [41,44,[48][49][50][51]. This concern is described in the following quote by a person with visual impairment in Cameroon:…”

“…It shouldn't be seen as a stand-alone. [42] In fact, as illustrated by a number of the studies, people with different types of impairments described how they were excluded from health education campaigns or opportunities due to the initiatives only targeting the mainstream, or inclusion of disability being an afterthought [42,43,46,47,49,58]. Common examples included people with visual impairments not being able to see posters, billboards, or read informational pamphlets with health education messages, or people with hearing impairments not being able to hear messages broadcasted via radio or television programs [42,45,48,56].…”

“…Some of these barriers are disability specific, depending on the type of impairments experienced. An example here is the absence of ramps for those with certain physical impairments resulting in difficulties entering the building, or lack of sign language interpreters for people with hearing impairment [38,41,45,48,49,54,[56][57][58]. This barrier is illustrated by an example of a person with visual impairment from Kenya, discussing the shortage or lack of sign language interpreters and guidance at the health facility:…”

“…My children cannot carry me on a bicycle because I have dizziness whenever I am put on the bicycle, so this makes me not access formal health care services. [39] People with disabilities can also face additional costs of transport for the person on either public or private transport [49]. For instance, public transport drivers may charge extra or fail to stop for people with disabilities as they are believed to be too slow or require assistance [46,51].…”

Validação de tecnologias assistivas sobre infecções sexualmente transmissíveis para cegos: estudo metodológico

“…Despite the increase in actions aimed at promoting health for blind people about sexual practices, especially the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), this segment of the population still has limited dominance on the subject due to the failure of the communication channels, since the health services do not have materials accessible to this public (2) .…”