Access to Healthcare for People Living with Physical Disabilities

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Aysu Həsanova is a student at the Faculty of Public Health, Azerbaijan Medical University. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Individuals with physical disabilities are not only defined by their medical conditions, but in fact, it is the interaction that occurs between the medical conditions of the individuals and the environment that defines them. About 1.3 billion people have substantial disabling health conditions, contributing about 16% of the population globally, according to the World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2023).

People with disabilities, especially physically disabled individuals and those who live alone, experience major challenges when accessing health care. This is because they may experience financial problems, communication problems, inability to access health care facilities easily, and stigma when seeking health care (World Health Organization, 2021).

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to enjoy the same access to health services as others. It urges countries to guarantee this right. According to the Convention, persons with disabilities should be able to enjoy the healthcare system without discrimination; thus, healthcare is a basic human right (United Nations, 2006).

For the purpose of the actual application of the above-mentioned global legal framework, the World Health Organization developed the Disability-Inclusive Health Services Toolkit. This toolkit is intended for healthcare facilities and can be used as a guiding tool in the identification and removal of the barriers that people living with disabilities experience. It also contains guidelines on aspects of accessibility in healthcare (WHO IRIS, 2023).

In addition to that, it comes with training solutions that guide medical practitioners on how to apply inclusive practices. It addresses attitudes and stereotypes and techniques for removing barriers related to communication (WHO IRIS, 2023).

Studies have suggested that the barriers to accessing health care among physically disabled persons encompass personal issues, financial limitations, attitudinal or communication barriers, health system barriers, or structural and environmental barriers. Cultural perceptions or the unavailability of information also form important aspects in seeking primary health care (Sharma et al., 2021; MDPI, 2025; IIUM, 2023).

For enhancing accessibility to health care for disabled people, the following are necessary:

Physical accessibility: This includes making sure there are ramps for people to access services, private consulting rooms that are accessible.

Communicative practices: Providing information through sign language, Braille, and plain language.

Training and education: Training of healthcare staff on inclusive practices and the elimination of stereotypes is needed.

Policy and planning: Principles of inclusiveness should be incorporated into health policies and monitoring frameworks.

Home healthcare and community care support: This is important, especially for those who are living alone.

All these are engraved in ensuring Universal Health Coverage, seeing that health outcomes within society are improved through equal accessibility of all people, including those with a physical disability, to health care (WHO, 2023; WHO Toolkit, 2023).

About the author

Aysu Həsanova is a student at the Faculty of Public Health, Azerbaijan Medical University. She was an active member of the SCOPH committee last year and currently serves as a SCOPH PA. In this role, she supports the planning and implementation of public health projects, peer education initiatives, and health advocacy activities. Her academic interests include health equity, improving access to healthcare, and promoting community-based health programs. Passionate about engaging with communities, Aysu actively contributes to initiatives that make public health education both accessible and inspiring.