Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39478543›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

From legislation to actual health service: evaluation of health provisions in the disability law of Ghana by adolescents with mobility and visual impairments and their families.

Ebenezer Mensah Gyimah, Ebenezer Dassah, Maxwell Peprah Opoku, William Nketsia, Afua Ntoaduro, Clement Osei Tutu, Cecilia Opoku, Zakia Issaka, Philip Atta Mensah

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Voices in Images: Unveiling the Lived Realities of Adolescents with Disabilities in Ghana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Caregivers' Experience of Supporting Deaf Adults with Mental Health Disorders in Ghana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ebenezer Mensah GyimahDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. gyimahebenezermensah@gmail.com.
Ebenezer DassahDepartment of Global and International Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Maxwell Peprah OpokuDepartment of Special Education, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
William NketsiaSchool of Education, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Afua NtoaduroDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies, Akenten Appiah Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi, Ghana.
Clement Osei TutuDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Cecilia OpokuDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Zakia IssakaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Philip Atta MensahBonn Centre for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite Ghana's Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) making provisions for access to healthcare services for adolescents with disabilities and their families, a corpus of literature has reported that persons with disabilities continue to face challenges in accessing healthcare services. However, the voices of adolescents with disabilities and their families are very scarce in such discourse. This study explored the experiences of adolescents with disabilities and their families in accessing healthcare services as per the provisions described in Ghana's Act 715.

methodsThis study involved 45 participants, including 25 adolescents with disabilities and 20 family members from a municipality in Ghana. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, semi-structured interviews were conducted which was then analyzed thematically and interpreted using Critical Disability Theory.

resultsThe study identified two major categories of barriers to healthcare access: environmental (socio-economic difficulties, poor built environment, unavailability of rehabilitation services) and systemic (cultural beliefs, poor support at healthcare facilities and inadequate healthcare legislative provisions for families of children with disabilities). Despite legal provisions for free healthcare, participants faced significant financial barriers, with specialist services often not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.

conclusionsThe study calls for policy adjustments to fully cover specialist care under Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme, establishment of local-level health assessment and resource centers, educational campaigns to change cultural perceptions, and training of healthcare workers to promote quality access to healthcare.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityPersons with DisabilitiesQualitative ResearchAdolescentAdultFamilyFemaleGhanaHumansInterviews as TopicMaleVision DisordersYoung AdultAdolescents with disabilitiesBarriersFamilyHealthcare accessLegal provisions

Identifiers

PMID39478543
PMCPMC11526718

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.