Accessibility and predictors of sexual and reproductive health services utilisation among adolescents and youth people with disabilities in Bono Region, Ghana: a cross-sectional survey.

Luke Ojo, Themba G Ginindza, Monica Ansu-Mensah, Desmond Kuupiel

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Disability and Biomedical HIV Prevention: The Missing Equity Dimension.Viruses · 2026
Review

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

4 authors.

Luke OjoDiscipline of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa. ojoluke09@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-9774-6422

Themba G GinindzaDiscipline of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa.

Monica Ansu-MensahDirectorate of Grants, Research and Development, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Bono Region, Ghana.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4665-095X

Desmond KuupielDepartment of Nursing & Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Fort Hare, East London, 5200, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite global commitments to universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 3, 4, 5, and 10 by 2030, adolescents and young people with disabilities (AYPWD), including those with long-term physical, sensory, speech, intellectual, or mental impairments, face persistent barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services (including antenatal care, contraception, family planning) in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence from Ghana remains limited. This study assessed accessibility and predictors of SRH service utilisation among AYPWD aged 15-24 years in Ghana's Bono Region.

methodsA community-based analytic cross-sectional survey was conducted among 440 AYPWD selected using multi-stage random sampling across urban and rural districts. Data were collected using structured questionnaires capturing sociodemographic characteristics, disability profiles, SRH service utilisation, and structural and perceived accessibility indicators. Descriptive statistics summarised patterns of service use, while logistic regression models identified predictors of SRH service access and perceived ease of access. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

resultsOf the 440 respondents, most were female (62.0%), urban residents (80.7%), and aged 20-24 years (52.3%). Access to personal hygiene information was high (82.5%), whereas utilisation of contraceptive information (22.0%), sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and treatment (32.0%), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing (13.0%), safe abortion information (7.7%), and antenatal care (2.7%) was low. Females had significantly higher odds of accessing contraceptive information (AOR = 4.55; 95% CI: 2.43-8.50; p < 0.001) and menstrual health support (AOR = 13.42; 95% CI: 7.76-23.19; p < 0.001). Respondents with visual (OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.09-0.26; p < 0.001) and hearing disabilities (OR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.25-0.81; p = 0.008) reported greater service-quality barriers, while visual disability was also associated with reduced perceived ease of access (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.29-0.86; p = 0.013).

conclusionSRH service utilisation among AYPWD in the Bono Region remains low and is shaped by gender, disability type, and structural and socioeconomic factors. Strengthening disability-inclusive infrastructure, communication support, gender-responsive programming, and targeted financing mechanisms is essential to improve equitable access and advance progress toward universal health coverage in Ghana.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityPatient Acceptance of Health CarePersons with DisabilitiesReproductive Health ServicesAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGhanaHumansMaleYoung AdultAdolescents, young people, disabilitiesBono RegionDisability inclusionGhanaHealth service utilisationLow- and middle-income countriesService accessibilitySexual and reproductive healthUniversal health coverage

Identifiers

PMID42393602

DOI10.1186/s12889-021-12045-4

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

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.