BackgroundGlobal research suggests that persons with disabilities face barriers when accessing health care services. Yet, information regarding the nature of these barriers, especially in low-income and middle-income countries is sparse. Rural contexts in these countries may present greater barriers than urban contexts, but little is known about access issues in such contexts. There is a paucity of research in South Africa looking at “triple vulnerability” – poverty, disability and rurality. This study explored issues of access to health care for persons with disabilities in an impoverished rural area in South Africa.MethodsThe study includes a quantitative survey with interviews with 773 participants in 527 households. Comparisons in terms of access to health care between persons with disabilities and persons with no disabilities were explored. The approach to data analysis included quantitative data analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequency and cross tabulation, comparing and contrasting the frequency of different phenomena between persons with disabilities and persons with no disabilities, were used. Chi-square tests and Analysis of Variance tests were then incorporated into the analysis.ResultsPersons with disabilities have a higher rate of unmet health needs as compared to non-disabled. In rural Madwaleni in South Africa, persons with disabilities faced significantly more barriers to accessing health care compared to persons without disabilities. Barriers increased with disability severity and was reduced with increasing level of education, living in a household without disabled members and with age.ConclusionsThis study has shown that access to health care in a rural area in South Africa for persons with disabilities is more of an issue than for persons without disabilities in that they face more barriers. Implications are that we need to look beyond the medical issues of disability and address social and inclusion issues as well.

BackgroundThere is international evidence that people with disabilities face barriers when accessing primary healthcare services and that there is inadequate information about effective interventions that work to improve the lives of people with disabilities, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. Poor rural residents generally experience barriers to accessing primary healthcare, and these problems are further exacerbated for people with disabilities.ObjectiveIn this study, we explore the challenges faced by people with disabilities in accessing healthcare in Madwaleni, a poor rural Xhosa community in South Africa.DesignPurposive sampling was done with 26 participants, using semi-structured interviews and content analysis to identify major themes.ResultsThis study showed a number of barriers to healthcare for people with disabilities. These included practical barriers, including geographical and staffing issues, and attitudinal barriers.ConclusionsIt is suggested that although there are practical barriers that need to be addressed, attitudinal barriers could potentially be addressed more easily and cost effectively.

We propose shifting the focus of mental health care from cure to promotion and prevention, using an interdisciplinary team of lay and trained health workers from the professional, folk and popular sectors. The challenges are complex, as this small study shows, but it is only by looking closely at local conditions that it is possible to develop interventions which are contextually appropriate and make optimal use of local resources.

In this paper, the current situation regarding rural mental health in South Africa is explored. The current status is presented, followed by an attempt to provide approaches and ideas to improve the situation in order to make it more context appropriate and relevant. Issues of staffing, task shifting or sharing, and formal vs informal health care systems are considered and discussed as possible future approaches to improve rural mental health care in South Africa.

BackgroundThere are many factors that influence access to public health services, such as the context people live in, the existing health services, and personal, cultural and community factors. People with disabilities (activity limitations), through their experience of health services, may offer a particular understanding of the performance of the health services, thus exposing health system limitations more clearly than perhaps any other health service user.AimThis article explores how activity limitations interact with factors related to context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services in South Africa.SettingWe present four case studies of people with disabilities from four low-resource diverse contexts in South Africa (rural, semi-rural, farming community and peri-urban) to highlight challenges of access to health services experienced by people with activity limitations in a variety of contexts.MethodsOne case study of a person with disabilities was chosen from each study setting to build evidence using an intensive qualitative case study methodology to elucidate individual and household experiences of challenges experienced by people with activity limitations when attempting to access public health services. In-depth interviews were used to collect data, using an interview guide. The analysis was conducted in the form of a thematic analysis using the interview topics as a starting point.ResultsFirst, these four case studies demonstrate that equitable access to health services for people with activity limitations is influenced by a complex interplay of a variety of factors for a single individual in a particular context. Secondly, that while problems with access to public health services are experienced by everyone, people with activity limitations are affected in particular ways making them particularly vulnerable in using public health services.ConclusionThe revitalisation of primary health care and the introduction of national health insurance by the Health Department of South Africa open a window of opportunity for policy makers and policy implementers to revisit and address the areas of access to public health services for people with activity limitations.