“This one will delay us”: barriers to accessing health care services among persons with disabilities in Malawi

Purpose: This paper explores the barriers which people with disabilities experience in accessing health care services in Malawi. Methodology: Fifty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with people with various types of disabilities. These interviews were conducted in four districts in Malawi: Blantyre and Phalombe in the Southern Region; Ntchisi in the Central Region, and Rumphi in the North. A team of trained research assistants conducted the interviews. Results: The major challenges that people with disabilities experience include the cost of accessing health care, long distances to health facilities, lack of transport, hilly terrains and flooding of rivers during the rainy season, communication challenges with the health providers and poor attitude of health workers. Some of these challenges are not unique to people with disabilities, but constitute more of a problem among people with disabilities. Conclusion: There is a need to address these challenges through the expansion of the provision of assistive devices, implementing comprehensive outreach services targeting people with disabilities and strengthening the links between key component of access to quality health care. Attitudinal barriers and lack of resources remain major challenges