Journal Article

Challenges in accessing health care services for women and girls with disabilities using a humanitarian physical rehabilitation program in Lebanon: a mixed method study

Al Sultan, Hala, AL-MOSA, Ahmad, Truppa, Claudia, Abou-Abbas, Linda, Benyaich, Aicha, Rossi, Rodolfo, Lteif, Maria Rita, Sabbagh, Diana, Mitri, Rouba, Vijayasingham, Lavanya, Rawi, Haya

2024

Overview

Background Achieving equitable healthcare access for persons with disabilities is vital, as they often face various barriers that impact their health and well-being. Recognizing the importance of gender equity, this study aims to explore the specific barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities in accessing quality healthcare services in Lebanon. Methods A mixed-method sequential explanatory approach was employed. Initially, a retrospective descriptive study analyzed data from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-supported physical rehabilitation programme (PRP) database. Subsequently, in-depth interviews were conducted to delve into factors influencing gender-disproportionate service users and to uncover barriers to accessing healthcare. Levesque et al.‘s ‘Conceptual framework on healthcare access’ was used to organize and map the results. Results The quantitative analysis of service utilization at ICRC PRP centers from 2015 to 2022 revealed significant gender disparities, with males comprising 66.6% of service users compared to 33.4% females. This trend was consistent across age categories, nationalities, and clinical conditions. Healthcare access for women and girls with disabilities was found to be inadequate across all five dimensions of the Levesque framework: adequacy, accessibility, affordability, appropriateness, and availability, as well as their corresponding abilities. While certain challenges such as transportation, financial constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and limited information on available services were common to both genders, gender-specific barriers primarily included societal norms, safety concerns during unaccompanied visits to healthcare facilities, limited access to societal information, economic disparities, preferences for female healthcare providers, and the need for privacy during consultations. Conclusion This study underscores key barriers hindering healthcare access for women and girls with disabilities in Lebanon, necessitating tailored interventions. Gender-specific challenges, including societal norms and safety concerns, require targeted solutions for improved access and outcomes. This study serves as a call to action for stakeholders at various levels to collaborate and implement concrete measures to bridge the gap in healthcare access and ensure that no one is left behind.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Access to healthcare / Adolescent / Adult / Affordability / Age differences / Altruism / Analysis / Availability / Barriers / Care and treatment / Caregivers / Child / Child, Preschool / Clinical outcomes / Cultural groups / Data collection / Diagnosis / Disabilities / Disability / Disability studies / Equality and Human Rights / Ethics / Fairness / Female / Females / Frame analysis / Gender / Gender differences / Gender Equity / Gender inequality / Girls / Health care / Health care access / Health care facilities / Health care industry / Health care policy / Health inequalities in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region / Health Policy / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention / Health services / Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data / Health Services Research / Healthcare Disparities - statistics & numerical data / Humanitarian program / Humanitarianism / Humans / Information services / Informed consent / Infrastructure / Lebanon / Male / Medical care / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental retardation / Methods / Middle Aged / Mixed methods research / Needs assessment / Norms / People with disabilities / Persons with Disabilities - statistics & numerical data / Physical disabilities / Privacy / Public Health / Quality of care / Quantitative analysis / Rehabilitation / Retrospective Studies / Safety / Social Justice / Social norms / Social Policy / Treatment programs / Trends / Unaccompanied / Well being / Women / Women's health services / Young Adult