“They Didn’t Ask.” Rural Women With Disabilities and Experiences of Violence Describe Interactions With the Healthcare System

Women with disabilities are at risk of experiencing multiple forms of severe and prolonged violence, yet guidelines for screening this population are unclear, screening rates are historically low, and screening tools may be inadequate to capture disability-related aspects of abuse. We conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 33 rural women in the United States with diverse disabilities and experiences of violence. They described overarching healthcare provider and system factors that influenced their trust and confidence in healthcare delivery as an avenue to support their safety. Women described interactions with the healthcare system during their experience of violence as a missed opportunity for identifying and responding to their abuse and connecting them with resources. We conclude with policy and practice recommendations based on women with disabilities’ perspectives and insights.

Experience of Female Entrepreneurs With Disabilities in Zimbabwe

The global population of people with disabilities is estimated to be around one billion which represents 15% of the population. It is further estimated that the majority of people with disabilities are found in developing countries to which the majority are women. Adding on to the challenge, 82% percent of disabled people live below the poverty line and can barely employ sustainable means of earning a living and neither can they widen livelihood options due to their circumstances. Thus, they are languishing in absolute poverty. Developing countries are lagging behind in promoting the economic rights of women with disabilities. This is mainly shown by their absence in formal employment because many developing countries do not have policies which facilitate the employment of women with disabilities. Women with disabilities in Zimbabwe are concentrated in light industry entrepreneurship. The majority are found in vending, buying, and selling of cloth and electrical items, others are involved in cross-border trading.

Contraceptive Dynamics Among Women with Disabilities in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review Protocol

Introduction Contraceptive dynamics is the use of contraception, unmet need, discontinuation and/or switching of contraception. Women with disabilities (WWDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face a common problem: a low prevalence of contraceptive usage and a high unmet need. Despite the fact that certain studies have been conducted in high-income countries, there is a scarcity of research on the degree of contraceptive method mix, unmet need, contraception discontinuation, and switching among WWDs in LMICs. As a result, the scoping review's goal is to investigate, map available evidence, and identify knowledge gaps on contraceptive dynamics within LMICs WWDs. Methods The scoping review is guided by the six-stage Arksey and O'Malley methodology framework. Published articles will be retrieved from databases such as PubMed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Global Health. Grey literature databases will be searched using electronic search engines such as Google scholar, Google, OpenGrey, and Worldcat. In addition, a manual search of reference lists from recognized studies will be conducted, as well as a hand search of the literature. There will be no restrictions on study design or publication year. Two independent reviewers will screen relevant publications, and data will be charted accordingly. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist and reporting guideline will be used to convey the findings of this scoping review. Discussion When compared to non-disabled women, WWDs had a lower prevalence of contraceptive usage and a higher unmet need in LMICs. This indicates a pervasive issue that could compromise the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Convention article 25, which guarantees PWDs access to SRH services, and make the situation difficult to address. Despite these facts, they are the most marginalized people. on the planet. It is critical to map available evidence and identify knowledge gaps in order to do this. As a result, the findings of this scoping review will be significant in terms of the contraceptive dynamic among WWDs in LMICs. Registration: Open Science Framework (OSF), with registration number; DOI/10.17605/OSF.IO/XCKPT.

Effects of Physical Exercise on Women with Disabilities in South Korea: A Meta-Analysis

This study is the first to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the effects of physical exercise on South Korean women with disabilities using the data of previous studies. This study performed a meta-analysis of the effect sizes of exercise programs for women with disabilities using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 and a total of 16 papers with 154 participants. The largest effect sizes were found for changes in muscle strength (d = 2.407) for treatment effects, horseback riding (d = 3.080) for exercise type, 45–50 min (d = 3.080) for duration of a single exercise session, three times (d = 0.963) for frequency of exercise per week, 15 weeks (d = 1.974) for period of exercise and 45 times (d = 1.974) for total number of sessions. The results of this meta-analysis showed that exercise programs suitable for the individual-level characteristics of disabled individuals can and should be developed and implemented.

The Role of HWDI (Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities) in Increasing the Self Confidence of Persons with Disabilities in Sukarame Bandar Lampung

This article examines the role of HWDI (Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association) in increasing the confidence of people with disabilities in Sukarame Bandar Lampung, where women with disabilities always feel inferior, have low self-esteem, do not have confidence when socializing and are in the midst of society. This paper aims to increase the self-confidence of people with disabilities using group guidance techniques. This research was conducted at HWDI (Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association) Sukarame Bandar Lampung. This research data collection using interviews, observation and documentation with the Snowball sampling technique. Data analysis in this study used descriptive qualitative data validity by means of triangulation and so on. The results of this paper indicate that the process of implementing group guidance for women with disabilities in HWDI is carried out in four stages: the first stage is the formation, the second is the transition, the third is the activity and the fourth is the termination using the Humanistic approach. These four stages can increase the confidence of women with disabilities at HWDI (Indonesian Disabled Women Association) Sukarame Bandar Lampung

Factors affecting utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among women with disabilities- a mixed-method cross-sectional study from Ilam district, Nepal

Background Persons with disabilities can have physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which can hinder their social participation. Despite Sustainable Development Goals call for “universal access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH)”, women with disabilities (WwDs) continue to experience barriers to access SRH services in Nepal. This study evaluated factors affecting the utilization of SRH services among WwDs in Ilam district, Nepal. Methods A mixed-method study with 384 WwDs of reproductive age was conducted in Ilam district, eastern Nepal. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Relationships between utilization of SRH services and associated factors were explored using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Qualitative data were collected from focus groups with female community health volunteers and interviews with WwDs, health workers and local political leaders. They were audio-recorded, translated and transcribed into English and were thematically analyzed. Results Among 384 respondents (31% physical; 7% vision,16% hearing, 7% voice&speech,12% mental/psychosocial, 9% intellectual, 18% multiple disabilities), only 15% of them had ever utilized any SRH services. No requirement (57%) and unaware of SRH services (24%) were the major reasons for not utilizing SRH services. A majority (81%) of them reported that the nearest health facility was not disability-inclusive (73%), specifically referring to the inaccessible road (48%). Multivariate analysis showed that being married (AOR = 121.7, 95% CI: 12.206–1214.338), having perceived need for SRH services (AOR = 5.5; 95% CI: 1.419–21.357) and perceived susceptibility to SRH related disease/condition (AOR = 6.0; 95% CI:1.978–18.370) were positively associated with the utilization of SRH services. Qualitative findings revealed that illiteracy, poor socioeconomic status, and lack of information hindered the utilization of SRH services. WwDs faced socioeconomic (lack of empowerment, lack of family support), structural (distant health facility, inaccessible-infrastructure), and attitudinal (stigmatization, bad behaviour of health care providers, perception that SRH is needed only for married) barriers to access SRH services. Conclusions Utilization of SRH services among WwDs was very low in Ilam district, Nepal. The findings of this study warrant a need to promote awareness-raising programs to WwDs and their family members, sensitization programs to health service providers, and ensure the provision of disability-inclusive SRH services in all health facilities.