Disablers to Access to Healthcare services experienced by Learners with Hearing Impairment at Musakanya School in Mpika District, Zambia
- February 2, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Education, IJRSI
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume IX, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2321–2705
Bevin. M. Sichlindi, Habeenzu Mulunda, Albert Chishiba & Francis Simui
Institute of Distance Education, University of Zambia
Abstract: This study focused on disablers experienced by learners with Hearing Impairments (LwHI) when accessing health services in Zambia. A qualitative methodology driven by Hermeneutics Phenomenology research design was applied. In addition, a purposive sampling technique was used to enlist Ten LwHI to participate in this study. Participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and clusters of themes emerged thereafter. Emergent themes from the lived experiences of LwHI included: poor health services and academic performance of LwHI that represent their felt worlds while at Musakanya school. The findings of the study revealed that most of the LwHI health services were unmet due to inaccessibility to better health services caused by poor communication, wrong diagnosis, lack of privacy and confidentiality, discrimination, inadequate medical vocabulary for signs, poor health education, Limited Institutional support staff and Negative attitude. The study also unearthed that LwHI experienced poor health services which resulted in poor academic performance due to absenteeism and prolonged admission at hospitals. Based on the findings of the current study, the researchers provide five (5) recommendations among which include: inclusive policy, communication, mandatory training of sign language to health workers, teachers to offer remedial works and improve on health education.
Key Words: Disablers, Lived Experiences, Hearing Impairment, Health Services, Mpika, Zambia
I. CONTEXT
This paper is an excerpt from the principal researcher’s Master of Special Education dissertation. The Master’s programme was offered by the University of Zambia (UNZA) and has been running since 2020 (Manchishi, Simui, Ndhlovu & Thompson, 2020). The University of Zambia is a public university with a history of more than 50 years (Mundende, Simui, Chishiba, Mwewa & Namangala, 2016).
The study used the Hermeneutic approach and the researchers accepted the difficulty of bracketing, as advanced through the Transcendental Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. Simui (2018) observes that phenomenology focuses on human experience for it explores the individual’s lived experiences and search for meaning. Therefore, this study attempted to unveil the world as experienced by the LwHI through their lifeworld stories.
Despite Zambia being a signatory to various policies such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Act 2012 and others with the view of promoting their full participation and accessibility in society, little has been done in the health sector as a result Hearing Impaired (HI) learners are still struggling to access health services on an equal basis with non-HI learners because health workers up today lack sign language skill and also qualified interpreters are not employed to link medical workers with HI learners. However, this research aimed at exploring lived experiences of learners with hearing impairment when accessing health services. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of learners with hearing impairment when accessing health services. The objective of this study was to explore disablers access to health care services for learners with hearing impairment.
