W-DARE: a three-year program of participatory action research to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women with disabilities in the Philippines
Author(s)
- Cathy Vaughan
- Jerome Zayas
- Alexandra Devine
- Liz Gill-Atkinson
- Manjula Marella
- Joy Garcia
- Krissy Bisda
- Joy Salgado
- Carolyn Sobritchea
- Tanya Edmonds
- Sally Baker
- Marco Ma Jesusa
Reference
W-DARE: a three-year program of participatory action research to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women with disabilities in the Philippines. BMC Public Health, December, 2015.Applied research areas
Thematic issues
Impairment
Geographical areas
Author's summary
In many contexts, women with disability have less access to sexual and reproductive health information, screening, prevention, and care services than women without disability. Women with disability are also known to be more likely to experience physical and sexual violence than women without disability. In the Philippines, health service providers often have little awareness of the sexual and reproductive experiences of women with disability and limited capacity to provide services in response to their needs. Very limited data are available to inform development of disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health, and violence prevention and response, services in the country. This paper presents the protocol for W-DARE (Women with Disability taking Action on REproductive and sexual health), a three-year program of participatory action research that aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women with disability in the Philippines.
This three-year study will provide evidence about factors undermining the sexual and reproductive health of women with disability in a lower-middle income country, and provide new insights about what may be effective in increasing access to services in settings of limited resources. Findings will be relevant across Asia and the Pacific. Analysis of the program will also provide evidence about disability-inclusion in participatory action research approaches.
Resource Center comment
Cette recherche appliquée a été produite dans le cadre du programme W-DARE (Women with Disability taking Action on REproductive and sexual health), en coopération avec les acteurs de terrain (les femmes handicapées et les associations représentatives). Ce programme a but pour d’évaluer la réalité de l’accès pour les femmes handicapées aux services de gynécologie, afin de s’adapter et pouvoir permettre au plus grand nombre d’accéder à ces services. Cette recherche s’inscrit dans les articles 23 et 25 de la Convention relative aux droits des personnes handicapées qui stipule que les personnes handicapées ont le droit d’avoir accès aux services de soin. Ce document pourrait intéresser les acteurs de terrain souhaitant aider les personnes handicapées dans l’accès aux services de santé dans les pays en voie de développement.
[ENG]
This three-year applied research was producted as part of the W-Dare programme (Women with Disability taking Action on REproductive and sexual health) in cooperation with those involved in the field (disabled women and associations of disabled women). The goal of this programme is to evaluate access to healthgynecological care for women with disabilities. , in order to adapt and widen access to this type of care. This research is in line with articles 23 and 25 of the CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), which stipulates that persons with disabilities have a right to quality healthcare. This document might be useful for those active in the field who wish to improve access to healthcare for persons with disabilities in developing countries.