Physical accessibility audit of primary health centers for people with disabilities: An on-site assessment from Dakshina Kannada district in Southern India.

Abstract

Background:Access to health care is important for persons with disability (PwD). The Government of India has launched the “Accessible India Campaign” (AIC) as a nationwide campaign for achieving universal accessibility for PwDs.Objective:To conduct an on-site assessment for physical accessibility of all primary health care centers (PHCs) of Dakshina Kannada (DK) district in Karnataka using the AIC checklist.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional facility-based assessment of all 67 PHCs under the administrative control of the District Health and Family Welfare Office of the district was done using Physical Accessibility Audit Checklist prepared by the AIC. Ethics approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee and written permission was obtained from the District Health and Family Welfare Officer. Data were analyzed for frequencies and percentages.Results:The Accessible India Physical Accessibility Audit Checklist consists of more than116 numbers of items. Out of 67 PHCs, 57 (85%) PHCs had an accessible pathway and 60 (90%) PHCs had a ramp for wheelchair. Only 25 (36%) PHCs had accessible doors. No PHCs had height-adjustable examination table, disable friendly toilets and only two PHCs had accessible weighing scales.Conclusion:This unique on-site assessment finds that our PHCs are not well equipped for catering to PwD. To realize AIC in terms of health care access for the PwD, there is much that remains desirable at primary health care level, a point of first contact in the public health system.