The intersectional jeopardy of disability, gender and sexual and reproductive health: experiences and recommendations of women and men with disabilities in Northern Uganda

Barriers and facilitators to perinatal care of women with disabilities in lower- and middle-income countries: a study protocol for scoping review of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND

The Sustainable Development Goals have put emphasis on equitable healthcare access for marginalised groups and communities. The number of women with disabilities (WWD) to marry and have children is rapidly increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, these women experience multifaceted challenges to seeking perinatal care in LMICs. The objective of this scoping review is to document key facilitators and barriers to seeking perinatal care by WWD. We also will propose strategies for inclusive perinatal healthcare services for women with disabilities in LMICs.

METHODS

We will conduct a scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature (published reports) of qualitative and mixed-methods studies on facilitators and barriers to seeking perinatal care for women with functional disabilities from 2010 to 2023 in LMICs. An electronic search will be conducted on Medline/PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Two researchers will independently assess whether studies meet the eligibility criteria for inclusion based on the title, abstract and a full-text review.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This scoping review is based on published literature and does not require ethics approval. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences related to reproductive health, disability and inclusive health forums.

The Right to Sexuality, Reproductive Health, and Found a Family for People with Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review

Although sexuality, reproductive health, and starting a family are human rights that should be guaranteed for all citizens, they are still taboo issues for people with intellectual disability (ID), and even more so for women with ID. This paper systematically reviews the current qualitative and quantitative evidence on the rights of people with ID in regard to Articles 23 (right to home and family) and 25 (health, specifically sexual and reproductive health) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). A systematic review of the current literature, following PRISMA 2020, was carried out in ERIC, PsychInfo, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, and Web of Science. In all, 151 articles were included for review. The studies were categorized into six themes: attitudes, intimate relationships, sexual and reproductive health, sexuality and sex education, pregnancy, and parenthood. There are still many barriers that prevent people with ID from fully exercising their right to sexuality, reproductive health, and parenthood, most notably communicative and attitudinal barriers. These findings underline the need to continue advancing the rights of people with ID, relying on Schalock and Verdurgo's eight-dimensional quality of life model as the ideal conceptual framework for translating such abstract concepts into practice and policy.

Awareness and access to mass media sources of information about modern family planning methods among women with disabilities in Nigeria: An analysis of 2018 demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND

Family planning is the foundation of sexual and reproductive health, and necessary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, the needs of women with disabilities and their access to these services have been neglected for decades, especially in Low and Middle-income Countries. To improve utilization of these services among women with disabilities, they have to be aware and informed about the services. This study was conducted to examine awareness and mass media sources of information on family planning between women with and without disabilities.

METHODS

This study used data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS). Our analytic sample included 26,585 women between 15 and 49 years of age who answered the disability module. We compared demographics and socioeconomic characteristics of women with and without disabilities using the chi-square test for categorical variables. In addition, we conducted logistic regressions to estimate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (with 95% confidence intervals) for level of awareness and mass media sources of information on modern contraceptive methods, using women without a disability as the reference group.

RESULTS

Finding showed that women with disabilities have poor awareness about family planning compared to women without disabilities even after adjusting for all covariates (AOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.23-0.76, P < 0.05). We also found that women with disabilities are less likely to receive information about family planning from any of the available mass media channels even after adjusting for covariates (AOR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.22-0.98, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that women with disabilities Nigeria have poor awareness about modern family planning methods compared to non-disabled women. They are also less likely to receive information about modern family planning methods compared to non-disabled women. To effectively reach women with disabilities, information barriers must be eliminated, coupled with increased opportunities to access family planning information. Donors, government, and other relevant stakeholders should consider funding inclusive campaigns and explore other mechanisms for disseminating family planning information to women with disabilities.

Reproductive materialism and justice for women with abortion care needs in Uganda

While reproductive health justice is often assumed to be inherent in reproductive health interventions, the nature of injustices, and the reasons for and mechanisms of concealment, are often unclear. In this article, we draw on an ethnography of priority setting and healthcare practice in eastern Uganda to illuminate these injustices and the mechanisms of concealement. We focus on discursive practices as the mechanisms through which power is activated and navigated, such that health practitioners are able to evade state surveillance and retribution. While language discourses conceal and normalise reproductive health injustices, discursive practices of care and priority setting enable reproductive controls to be navigated in ways that amplify these injustices and create new ones. In interventions, precarious conditions that impact women's reproductive health and living circumstances are often overlooked or concealed. We illustrate the convergence of biopower and necropolitical strategies to illuminate these conditions. Using the concept of reproductive materialism, we show how neoliberalism cultivates particular conditions of everyday life, in which populations are positioned as instruments for pecuniary motives, and normative controls are used to further financial gain.

Policy Implementation Challenges and Barriers to Access Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Faced By People With Disabilities: An Intersectional Analysis of Policy Actors' Perspectives in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

BACKGROUND

Emerging from a 20-year armed conflict, Uganda adopted several laws and policies to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) rights. However, the SRH rights of people with disabilities continue to be infringed in Uganda. We explored policy actors' perceptions of existing pro-disability legislation and policy implementation, their perceptions of potential barriers experienced by people with disabilities in accessing and using SRH services in post-conflict Northern Uganda, and their recommendations on how to redress these inequities.

METHODS

Through an intersectionality-informed approach, we conducted and thematically analysed 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews with macro level policy actors (national policy-makers and international and national organisations); seven focus groups (FGs) at meso level with 68 health service providers and representatives of disabled people's organisations (DPOs); and a two-day participatory workshop on disability-sensitive health service provision for 34 healthcare providers.

RESULTS

We identified four main themes: (1) legislation and policy implementation was fraught with numerous technical and financial challenges, coupled with lack of prioritisation of disability issues; (2) people with disabilities experienced multiple physical, attitudinal, communication, and structural barriers to access and use SRH services; (3) the conflict was perceived to have persisting impacts on the access to services; and (4) policy actors recommended concrete solutions to reduce health inequities faced by people with disabilities.

CONCLUSION

This study provides substantial evidence of the multilayered disadvantages people with disabilities face when using SRH services and the difficulty of implementing disability-focused policy in Uganda. Informed by an intersectionality approach, policy actors were able to identify concrete solutions and recommendations beyond the identification of problems. These recommendations can be acted upon in a practical road map to remove different types of barriers in the access to SRH services by people with disabilities, irrespective of their geographic location in Uganda.

Barriers to Equitable Public Participation in Health-System Priority Setting Within the Context of Decentralization: The Case of Vulnerable Women in a Ugandan District

BACKGROUND

Decentralization of healthcare decision-making in Uganda led to the promotion of public participation. To facilitate this, participatory structures have been developed at sub-national levels. However, the degree to which the participation structures have contributed to improving the participation of vulnerable populations, specifically vulnerable women, remains unclear. We aim to understand whether and how vulnerable women participate in health-system priority setting; identify any barriers to vulnerable women's participation; and to establish how the barriers to vulnerable women's participation can be addressed.

METHODS

We used a qualitative description study design involving interviews with district decision-makers (n=12), sub-county leaders (n=10), and vulnerable women (n=35) living in Tororo District, Uganda. Data was collected between May and June 2017. The analysis was conducting using an editing analysis style.

RESULTS

The vulnerable women expressed interest in participating in priority setting, believing they would make valuable contributions. However, both decision-makers and vulnerable women reported that vulnerable women did not consistently participate in decision-making, despite participatory structures that were instituted through decentralization. There are financial (transportation and lack of incentives), biomedical (illness/disability and menstruation), knowledge-based (lack of knowledge and/or information about participation), motivational (perceived disinterest, lack of feedback, and competing needs), socio-cultural (lack of decision-making power), and structural (hunger and poverty) barriers which hamper vulnerable women's participation.

CONCLUSION

The identified barriers hinder vulnerable women's participation in health-system priority setting. Some of the barriers could be addressed through the existing decentralization participatory structures. Respondents made both short-term, feasible recommendations and more systemic, ideational recommendations to improve vulnerable women's participation. Integrating the vulnerable women's creative and feasible ideas to enhance their participation in health-system decision-making should be prioritized.

Disability and sexual and reproductive health service utilisation in Uganda: an intersectional analysis of demographic and health surveys between 2006 and 2016

Background

The United Nations through universal health coverage, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH), pledges to include all people, leaving no one behind. However, people with disabilities continue to experience multiple barriers in accessing SRH services. Studies analysing the impacts of disability in conjunction with other social identities and health determinants reveal a complex pattern in SRH service use. Framed within a larger mixed methods study conducted in Uganda, we examined how disability, among other key social determinants of health (SDH), was associated with the use of SRH services.

Methods

We analysed data from repeated cross-sectional national surveys, the Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 2006, 2011, and 2016. The three outcomes of interest were antenatal care visits, HIV testing, and modern contraception use. Our main exposure of interest was the type of disability, classified according to six functional dimensions: seeing, hearing, walking/climbing steps, remembering/concentrating, communicating, and self-care. We performed descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses, which controlled for covariates such as survey year, sex, age, place of residence, education, and wealth index. Interaction terms between disability and other factors such as sex, education, and wealth index were explored. Regression analyses were informed by an intersectionality framework to highlight social and health disparities within groups.

Results

From 2006 to 2016, 15.5-18.5% of study participants lived with some form of disability. Over the same period, the overall prevalence of at least four antenatal care visits increased from 48.3 to 61.0%, while overall HIV testing prevalence rose from 30.8 to 92.4% and the overall prevalence of modern contraception use increased from 18.6 to 34.2%. The DHS year, highest education level attained, and wealth index were the most consistent determinants of SRH service utilisation. People with different types of disabilities did not have the same SRH use patterns. Interactions between disability type and wealth index were associated with neither HIV testing nor the use of modern contraception. Women who were wealthy with hearing difficulty (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.15, 95%CI 0.03 – 0.87) or with communication difficulty (OR = 0.17, 95%CI 0.03 – 0.82) had lower odds of having had optimal antenatal care visits compared to women without disabilities who were poorer.

Conclusion

This study provided evidence that SRH service use prevalence increased over time in Uganda and highlights the importance of studying SRH and the different disability types when examining SDH. The SDH are pivotal to the attainment of universal health coverage, including SRH services, for all people irrespective of their social identities.

Leaving no woman or girl behind? Inclusion and participation in digital maternal health programs in sub-Saharan Africa

Across sub-Saharan Africa where access to adequate maternal healthcare is fraught with myriad challenges, especially for hard-to-reach populations, digital health technologies offer opportunities to improve maternal health outcomes. Digital health can circumvent inefficiencies in the traditional healthcare system and address challenges such as limited access to in-person medical consultations, and poor access to skilled birth attendants and health promotion activities. These benefits notwithstanding, digital health can be exclusionary. Too often, digital maternal health programs are not designed with a focus on equity in distribution nor are they designed from a gender equity standpoint. In this paper, we illustrate exclusionary practices of digital health programs through an extensive literature review of digital maternal health programs across sub-Saharan Africa. Taking an intersectional approach, we discuss how women are most vulnerable and excluded at the intersection of gender, literacy, and disability. Tackling exclusionary practices in digital health is crucial to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind.

"They will say you want to make their home die": A mixed methods study to assess modern family planning use in partnered South Sudanese refugee and host populations in Northern Uganda

The unmet need for family planning among conflict-affected populations is high globally, leaving girls and women vulnerable to unintended pregnancies and poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Ours is the first known mixed-methods study to assess the use of modern family planning (FP) methods amongst married or partnered South Sudanese refugee and host populations in Northern Uganda and to explore differences between them. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in July 2019 which included 1,533 partnered women of reproductive age (15-49 years) from host and South Sudanese refugee communities in Kiryandongo and Arua. Qualitative data were collected in October 2019-January 2020 via 34 focus group discussions and 129 key informant interviews with refugee and host populations, health workers, community and religious leaders, health workers, local authorities and humanitarian actors. Our study did not find large differences between South Sudanese refugee and host populations in regard to modern FP use, though refugees reported somewhat poorer FP knowledge, accessibility and utilisation compared to Ugandan women. Reported barriers to FP use relate to access, quality of services, health concerns and family/community opposition, all of which emphasise the importance of men's gendered roles in relationships, cultural and religious beliefs and lack of agency for most women to make their own decisions about reproductive health. Sexual and gender-based violence related to FP use was reported among both refugee and host populations. Additional barriers to FP use include lack of privacy at the public health facilities which reduces confidentiality, mistrust of health workers, and stockouts of FP commodities. Facilitating factors for FP use included: free government health services; the presence of well-trained health workers; and NGOs who give support to populations and conduct community outreaches. The findings of this study underscore the importance of developing and implementing tailored sexual and reproductive health information and services, especially for modern FP methods, in partnership with South Sudanese refugee and host populations in Northern Uganda.

Utilization of HIV testing and counselling services by women with disabilities during antenatal care in Uganda: analysis of 2016 demographic and health survey

Background

HIV testing and counselling during antenatal care (ANC) is critical for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We investigated disparity in utilization of HIV testing and counselling services (HTC) between women with and without disabilities in Uganda.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study using the nationally representative 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. The study sampled 10,073 women between age 15–49 who had a live birth in the last 5 years. We estimated unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio for receiving pre-test HIV counselling, obtaining an HIV test result, and post-test HIV counselling by disability status using logistic regressions.

Results

We found that women with disabilities were less likely to receive pre-test HIV counselling (59.6 vs 52.4), obtain an HIV test result (68.2 vs 61.4), receive post-test HIV counselling (55.5 vs 51.6), and all HTC services (49.2 vs 43.5). From the regression analysis, women with disabilities were less likely to receive pre-test counselling [AOR = 0.83; CI = 0.74, 0.93] and obtain an HIV test result [AOR = 0.88; CI = 0.78, 0.99].

Conclusions

Our findings revealed that women with disabilities are less likely to receive HTC service during ANC and highlighted the need for disability-inclusive HIV and reproductive health services. Government, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders should consider funding inclusive campaigns and identifying other mechanisms for disseminating health information and behavioral interventions to women with disabilities.

Trends in Abortion Policies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The decision to terminate a pregnancy is not one that is taken lightly. The need for an abortion reflects limited sexual autonomy, ineffective or lack of access to contraceptive options, or a health indication. Abortion is protected under human rights law. That notwithstanding, access to abortions continues to be contested in many parts of the world, with vested interests from politically and religiously conservative states, patriarchal societies, and cultural mores, not just within local contexts but also within a broader geopolitical context. Criminalization of a women's choice not to carry a pregnancy is a significant driver of unsafe procedures, and even where abortions are provided legally, the policies remain constrained by the practice or by a lack of coherence. This review outlines the trends in abortion policy in low- and middle-income countries and highlights priority areas to ensure that women are safe and able to exercise their reproductive rights.

How to navigate the application of ethics norms in global health research: reflections based on qualitative research conducted with people with disabilities in Uganda

BACKGROUND

As Canadian global health researchers who conducted a qualitative study with adults with and without disabilities in Uganda, we obtained ethics approval from four institutional research ethics boards (two in Canada and two in Uganda). In Canada, research ethics boards and researchers follow the research ethics norms of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2), and the National Guidelines for Research Involving Humans as Research Participants of Uganda (NGRU) in Uganda. The preparation and implementation of this qualitative research raised specific ethical issues related to research participant privacy and the importance of availability and management of financial resources.

MAIN BODY

Our field experience highlights three main issues for reflection. First, we demonstrate that, in a global health research context, methodological and logistic adjustments were necessary throughout the research implementation process to ensure the protection of study participants' privacy, especially that of people with disabilities, despite having followed the prescribed Canadian and Ugandan ethics norms. Data collection and management plans were adapted iteratively based on local realities. Second, securing financial support as a key aspect of financial management was critical to ensure privacy through disability-sensitive data collection strategies. Without adequate funding, the recruitment of research participants based on disability type, sex, and region or the hiring of local sign language interpreters would not have been possible. Third, although the TCPS2 and NGRU underscore the significance of participants' privacy, none of these normative documents clearly express this issue in the context of global health research and disability, nor broadly discuss the ethical issue related to financial availability and management.

CONCLUSIONS

Conducting research in resource limited settings and with study participants with different needs calls for a nuanced and respectful implementation of research ethics in a global health context. We recommend a greater integration in both the TCPS2 and NGRU of global health research, disability, and responsible conduct of research. This integration should also be accompanied by adequate training which can further guide researchers, be they senior, junior, or students, and funding agencies.

Women's Health in/and Work: Menopause as an Intersectional Experience

This paper employs an intersectional lens to explore menopausal experiences of women working in the higher education and healthcare sectors in Australia. Open-text responses from surveys across three universities and three healthcare settings were subject to a multistage qualitative data analysis. The findings explore three aspects of menopause experience that required women to contend with a constellation of aged, gendered and ableist dynamics and normative parameters of labor market participation. Reflecting on the findings, the paper articulates the challenges of menopause as issues of workplace inequality that are rendered visible through an intersectional lens. The paper holds a range of implications for how to best support women going through menopause at work. It emphasizes the need for approaches to tackle embedded and more complex modes of inequality that impact working women’s menopause, and ensure that workforce policy both protects and supports menopausal women experiencing intersectional disadvantage.

The unintended consequences of COVID-19 mitigation measures matter: practical guidance for investigating them

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 has led to the adoption of unprecedented mitigation measures which could trigger many unintended consequences. These unintended consequences can be far-reaching and just as important as the intended ones. The World Health Organization identified the assessment of unintended consequences of COVID-19 mitigation measures as a top priority. Thus far, however, their systematic assessment has been neglected due to the inattention of researchers as well as the lack of training and practical tools.

MAIN TEXT

Over six years our team has gained extensive experience conducting research on the unintended consequences of complex health interventions. Through a reflexive process, we developed insights that can be useful for researchers in this area. Our analysis is based on key literature and lessons learned reflexively in conducting multi-site and multi-method studies on unintended consequences. Here we present practical guidance for researchers wishing to assess the unintended consequences of COVID-19 mitigation measures. To ensure resource allocation, protocols should include research questions regarding unintended consequences at the outset. Social science theories and frameworks are available to help assess unintended consequences. To determine which changes are unintended, researchers must first understand the intervention theory. To facilitate data collection, researchers can begin by forecasting potential unintended consequences through literature reviews and discussions with stakeholders. Including desirable and neutral unintended consequences in the scope of study can help minimize the negative bias reported in the literature. Exploratory methods can be powerful tools to capture data on the unintended consequences that were unforeseen by researchers. We recommend researchers cast a wide net by inquiring about different aspects of the mitigation measures. Some unintended consequences may only be observable in subsequent years, so longitudinal approaches may be useful. An equity lens is necessary to assess how mitigation measures may unintentionally increase disparities. Finally, stakeholders can help validate the classification of consequences as intended or unintended.

CONCLUSION

Studying the unintended consequences of COVID-19 mitigation measures is not only possible but also necessary to assess their overall value. The practical guidance presented will help program planners and evaluators gain a more comprehensive understanding of unintended consequences to refine mitigation measures.