To the health worker:
Learning about disability
Doctors and other health workers are usually trained
to treat only people without disabilities. They often
learn very little about disability in their education.
Their only contact with disabled people may be in
trying to ‘cure’ their disability.
Health workers need to learn more about
disabilities. They have to learn how a specific
disability may affect aspects of a woman’s life, such
as getting pregnant or growing older.
One good way for health workers to learn
more about disability is to include women with
disabilities in training programs. Health workers will
gain confidence by learning from the experiences
of women with disabilities, and they will learn
how to best teach health workers to make their care
disability-friendly.
To the health worker 41
I’m so glad you suggested
that I examine your chest.
The reason you have been
getting out of breath is
because you have asthma. It
has nothing to do with your
disability.
Listen to what a woman with disability tells
you about her health. Later you can ask
her whether or not she feels her disability
affects her health problem.
Health workers learn from women with disabilities
The health ministry in Uganda surveyed and talked with midwives and
traditional birth attendants across the country to find out what information
they needed to do their
jobs better. Several of
them said they needed
more information about
how to help women with
disabilities.
Next week, the
Blind Women’s
Association will
speak to us.
Wonderful! I need to
know how to help a
woman who is blind
get information
Now, the health
ministry in Uganda is
about family
planning.
beginning to organize
training sessions to
share more information
about disabled women’s
health. Women with disabilities help lead the training sessions. By sharing
their experiences with health workers, women with disabilities can answer
questions about good ways to treat disabled women. And, health workers and
disabled women are able to learn from each other.
A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities 2007