Access to health care services in public health facilities by women with deafness in Kampala capital city authority

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate access to health care information in public health facilities by women with deafness. The study also sought to establish ways by which women with deafness access healthcare information in public health facilities in Kampala capital city authority, assess availability and usage of assistive technologies to access healthcare information in public health facilities by women with deafness in Kampala capital city authority and to establish ways in which professional health workers’ (nurses) attitudes affect women with deafness’ access to healthcare information in public health facilities in Kampala capital city authority. This qualitative study adopted a phenomenology research design, conducted in Kampala Capital city Authority with a sample of 8 participants that included 4 women with deafness, 2 professional health workers (nurses) and 2 members of the association of women with deafness. All participants were selected purposively and data was collected using interview guides which were narrative, in addition to observation and document review. The study established that women with deafness mainly accessed healthcare information through written communication with the health workers (nurses) and sign language interpreters to those who could not read and write. Findings also established that there were very few assistive technologies used to access healthcare information by women with deafness other than the locally improvised mechanisms, mainly the use of pen and paper, and more so, the study findings established that the negative attitudes of nurses in public health facilities translated into improper diagnosis and wrong prescriptions of treatment for women with deafness. It was generally concluded that access to healthcare information in public health facilities by women with deafness in Kampala capital city authority is still a very big dispute including treatment for majority of persons with deafness. The study recommended that the government should provide free interpreters with skills in sign language for ease of communication between professional health workers (nurses) and patients with deafness in public health facilities, that more technological devices be purchased and used to easily identify patients with deafness for special service to avoid missing healthcare information as well as treatment and community awareness about deafness and hearing loss was recommended for health workers to understand and appreciate deafness.