This document discusses making healthcare accessible for people with disabilities. It defines health and disability, outlines relevant legislation, and examines the healthcare needs and barriers to access faced by people with disabilities. Some key barriers include physical, communication, attitudinal, social and economic barriers. The document advocates for a human rights and biopsychosocial approach to ensure consideration of people's impairments as well as environmental factors. Accessible healthcare requires addressing attitudinal, physical and communication barriers through training, reasonable accommodations, and universal design.

1. MAKING CITIES INCLUSIVE AND
ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL:
Healthcare Access for Persons
with Disabilities
Clement Nhunzvi (Mr)
MSc OT (UCT), BSc HOT (UZ)
Lecturer, Department of Rehabilitation
College of Health Sciences,
University of Zimbabwe

2.  Reflect
 Defining health and disability
 Legislation and Access
 Healthcare needs of persons with disabilities
 Access to healthcare
 Barriers to accessing healthcare services
 Human rights approach and Biopsychosocial model:
Parts of the solution.
Outline

3.  If you were to meet a person with a disability on
hospital grounds, Where would you take them to?
.

4. Defining health & disability
 Health is a resource for
everyday life, not the
objective of living.
 Health is a positive concept
emphasizing social and
personal resources, as well
as physical capacities.

5. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
What is Disability?
 The CRPD does not explicitly define disability
 Preamble of Convention states:
 ‘Disability is an evolving concept, and that disability results
from the interaction between persons with impairments and
attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with
others’
 Article 1 of the Convention states:
 ‘Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term
physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in
interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with
others’

6. Legislation and Access
 Zimbabwe constitution 2013
 Disabled Persons Act 1992
 UNCRPD 2006
 Public Health Act 1924/2002
 Mental Health Act 1996
 Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission Act Chapter
10:30 (2/2012)

7. Healthcare Needs of Persons with
Disabilities

8. Healthcare Needs of Persons with
Disabilities
 People with disabilities have healthcare
needs like everyone else
• To get and stay healthy, people with
disabilities need to be able to obtain the
healthcare they need when they need it, just
like everyone else.
• People with disabilities need healthcare
professionals who really listen to,
communicate with, and respect them.
• They need professionals who see the person
before the wheelchair.

9. My experience in
healthcare practice -
provider
•Wrong referrals to rehabilitation
• People with disabilities share many of the
same challenges as those without disabilities
when it comes to their own health and well-
being.
• Foremost is having the tools
and the knowledge – and knowledgeable
healthcare
professionals – to help them enjoy and
maintain full, healthy lives.

10. Access to healthcare service -
Zimbabwe
 Happens on a continuum
though not independently
accessible to a larger
extent

11. Access to healthcare service - Zimbabwe
 Access is actually required
because PWDs are more
prone to secondary
conditions

12. Barriers to accessing healthcare
services

13. Barriers to accessing healthcare
services
 • Physical/architectural
barriers
 • Communication barriers
 • Attitudinal barriers
 • Social/economic policy
barriers

15. Barriers to accessing healthcare
services
 Sad to note how this
coupled with attitudinal
barriers can silence sound
legislation

16.  Insufficient knowledge and awareness of disability
by the public, healthcare and wellness service
providers, educators, administrators, the media and
others
 Healthcare professional and community attitudes and
behaviours that see and respond only to the disability
not to the whole person
Barriers to accessing healthcare
services

17.  Insufficient healthcare and wellness promotion
services and information that is adapted for persons
with disabilities.
 Service systems that do not make use of innovative
and creative approaches to enhance the health and
wellness of persons with disabilities.
Barriers to accessing healthcare services

18. Human rights approach and
Biopsychosocial model

19.  Is there an accessible entrance to the facility? Is it clearly
marked?
 Are exam rooms accessible to wheelchair users?
 Was a sexual history taken? (often neglected due to a
stereotype of asexuality.)
 Are medical and non-medical staff trained to be respectful
and non-patronizing?
 Is there adequate time scheduled in the appointment for
the patient to adequately communicate without pressure
to hurry?
 Ensure that educational materials are easily accessible
Considerations

20.  Research and training
 Provide access for people with disabilities to
healthcare services
 The law requires reasonable accommodation –
meaning those changes that are readily achievable
and do not present an undue hardship on the facility
 Practitioners and facilities need to learn about and
provide specific accommodations for people with the
full range of disabilities
Considerations

21.  The challenges may be somewhat different for people
who walk with difficulty, those who use walking aids,
wheelchair users, people with a visual impairment
(people who have difficulty seeing or people who are
blind), people with hearing difficulties or people with
intellectual disabilities.
 There are a range of different features that are required
if a building is to be fully accessible.
 Building managers and city managers should ensure that
the premises are designed to be accessible and that
accessibility is maintained.
Considerations

22.  Universal access to healthcare is healthcare that is
reachable, affordable and acceptable to all those in need
 THANK YOU
Conclusion