Wheelchair accessibility to public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundAccessibility implies making public places accessible to every individual, irrespective of his or her disability or special need, ensuring the integration of the wheelchair user into the society and thereby granting them the capability of participating in activities of daily living and ensuring equality in daily life.ObjectiveThis study was carried out to assess the accessibility of the physical infrastructures (public buildings) in the Kumasi metropolis to wheelchairs after the passage of the Ghanaian Disability Law (Act 716, 2006).MethodsEighty-four public buildings housing education facilities, health facilities, ministries, departments and agencies, sports and recreation, religious groups and banks were assessed. The routes, entrances, height of steps, grade of ramps, sinks, entrance to washrooms, toilets, urinals, automated teller machines and tellers’ counters were measured and computed.ResultsOut of a total of 84 buildings assessed, only 34 (40.5%) of the buildings, 52.3% of the entrances and 87.4% of the routes of the buildings were accessible to wheelchair users. A total of 25% (13 out of 52) of the public buildings with more than one floor were fitted with elevators to connect the different levels of floors.ConclusionThe results of this study show that public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis are not wheelchair accessible. An important observation made during this study was that there is an intention to improve accessibility when buildings are being constructed or renovated, but there are no laid down guidelines as how to make the buildings accessible for wheelchair users.

Barriers and motivators of contraceptive use among young people in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative studies

“…The negative attitude of health professionals towards young people was reported by Flaherty et al [ 22 ], Tabane and Peu [ 23 ], Hokororo et al [ 26 ], Burke et al [ 29 ], and Hall et al [ 30 ] as a health systems-based barrier to contraceptive use among young people and this manifested in being treated disrespectfully, being entirely refused contraceptive services, being denied teaching about contraceptives, and discrimination. Our finding of physical inaccessibility of buildings as reported by Burke et al [ 29 ] where staircases were unfriendly and the physically challenged young people needing to be accompanied by someone, points to the general neglect of the rights of persons with physical disabilities to these buildings [ 41 ]. Our finding thus justifies calls for the physical environment to be designed and equipped to meet the needs of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and prioritization of their needs through national planning, budgeting and other national programmes.…”

Utilisation and Satisfaction with Health Services among Persons with Disabilities in Accra, Ghana

“…Majority of the respondents were satisfied with the health services available to them. This was due to the fact that health services were not only available but the built environment of these facilities was also accessible for them ( Yarfi et al, 2017). They could be independent as no functional or human support was needed in accessing the facility.…”

Experiences of Students Living with Physical Disabilities at a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal

“…Furthermore, even where some of the buildings have provisions for wheelchairs, depending on ability, some wheelchair users may need additional assistance to manoeuvre in these spaces (Masarira, 2017). Yarfi et al (2017) stress that public places and spaces should be accessible to everyone, whatever bodily ability. This calls for the integration of the wheelchair user into society, thereby granting them the capacity of participating in activities of daily living and ensuring equality in daily life.…”