Systematic Review : Gender Equity And Social Inclusion of Women With Disabilitie In Reproductive Health Services

Abstract

Globally, people with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and socially excluded groups. The reproductive health needs of women with disabilities have not received much attention, most likely due to the mistaken assumption that women with disabilities are not sexually active and do not want to deliver children. This study aimed to systematically review gender equity and social inclusion for women with disabilities in reproductive health services. The articles were selected from Google Scholar, World Cat, PROQUEST, and PubMed journal databases published from January 2010 to September 2020. The keywords for this review included “gender” or "gender equity" or "social inclusion" or "disability" and “reproductive health” or "women reproductive health". A total of 476 articles resulted from the initial search, the authors identified 10 articles on gender equity and social inclusion for women with disabilities in reproductive health services. Lack of information and education about reproductive health issues, physical accessibility and / infrastructure, judgmental attitudes of health workers, limited knowledge of health workers about disability issues and individual factors, including barriers to seeking health care and financial barriers, are identified as inhibiting factors for reproductive health services in women with disabilities,