Uptake and utilization of health services by persons with disabilities in Ntungamo district, Uganda

Globally, approximately 15% of the world¿s populations live with some form of disability.In Uganda, 12.4% of the Ugandäs populations live with some form of disability and Ntungamo district accounts for 22% (National Population and Housing Census, 2014). Most studies have established that Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) face challenges while seeking healthcare, which is a fundamental human right (Dessah, Aldersay, McColl & Davison, 2018).The study was guided by five objectives: to determine the demographic characteristics of PWDs; to determine the proportion of PWDs utilizing health facilities; to determine the predisposing factors associated with uptake and utilization of health services by PWDs; to determine the hospital related factors associated with the uptake and utilization of health services among PWDs and to establish strategies to improve the current community and policy interventions on the uptake and utilization of health services among PWDs.A cross-sectional study design was used. 264 respondents were interviewed with a 99% response rate. Data was entered in Ms-Excel spreadsheet and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis.