Health Rights Of People Research Articles

Curriculum development on the human rights of people with disabilities for future medical education: using a modified Delphi

BackgroundIn order for doctors to effectively provide medical services to patients with disabilities, an understanding of this population is necessary, along with the knowledge, attitudes, and technical abilities necessary to address health problems associated with each type of disability. One way of doing this is by educating doctors about disabilities and ensuring their frequent contact with people with disabilities while they are in medical school. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a systematic medical education curriculum to enhance doctors’ understanding of people with disabilities.MethodsThe authors conducted a systematic literature review to develop and verify the basic framework of the educational content and curriculum. Two surveys were also developed using the Delphi method to evaluate the adequacy and necessity of educational topics. Items with a content validity ratio equal to or greater than the minimum value were considered valid. Survey panels comprised academic experts and health care practitioners who were working with people with disabilities. We conducted two surveys, one for a basic and the other for an advanced course, in which 13 to 16 respondents took part.ResultsThe authors selected 13 topics for the ‘Basic Introductory Course’ and included general educational content on the health rights of people with disabilities focused on improving students’ knowledge of disabilities. The authors also selected 12 topics for the ‘Care and Communication for Patients with Disabilities Course’ designed to improve students’ understanding of interviewing and communicating with patients with disabilities.ConclusionsIn Korea, disability has received little attention in the medical curriculum to date. The curriculum developed in this study provides preliminary data for guiding future directions in medical education and developing specific support plans for an education that promotes people with disabilities’ health rights.

Guaranteeing the Health Rights of People with Disabilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from China.

The question of how to guarantee the health rights of people with disabilities, and their health equity in particular, is frequently neglected in infectious disease pandemics. The international response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is no exception in this regard. This neglect is related to other forms of marginalization and exclusion, as people with disabilities are generally poorer and more vulnerable than their non-disabled counterparts. Sustainable Development Goal 3 lacks an appropriate human rights language that enshrines equality and inclusivity in pandemic prevention work and related policies and legislation; and, as a result, it does not sufficiently guarantee the health rights of people with disabilities. This paper draws on China’s pandemic prevention work to extract relevant lessons, and seeks to explain how decision-making systems and resource allocation mechanisms impact on the health rights of people with disabilities. It discusses the unique roles of justice and legislation in helping to guarantee the health rights of people with disabilities in an infectious disease pandemic, and concludes that future research should more closely consider how Sustainable Development Goal 16 can support Sustainable Development Goal 3.

INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT OF EQUAL ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The right to equal access to health care is a fundamental irrevocable right for every person which should be guaranteed in every legal system. It is clear from the established international standards in the field of health that the right of access to healthcare guarantees universal access on an equal basis to really available quality and acceptable health services and health facilities. According to the World Health Organization, access to health services also includes health promotion and disease prevention. In regard to people with disabilities and disadvantaged people, ensuring effective access to healthcare is extremely important, in mind their vulnerability and increased need for moral, social and financial support. The international community has always paid serious attention to the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of people with disabilities, especially their health care rights. Evidence for this positive policy is the many legal acts adopted within the United Nations system and within the European Union.The most important of these acts are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, all adopted by the United Nations, as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the European Disability Strategy and other European acts. The listed legal instruments proclaim the right of every person to the highest attainable standard of health and as an element of it is protected and the right to equal access to quality health care for all persons.At the same time with creating an appropriate legal framework to protect the health rights of people with disabilities, specialized bodies have been set up within the United Nations system and within the European Union to monitor and control the implementation of international treaties. This approach of the international community deserves support, as only the introduction of comprehensive and adequate measures could provide for a sufficiently high level of protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, who as full citizens of society should have equal and appropriate conditions for full exercising their subjective health rights, without discrimination on the basis of their disability.

Factors influencing reproductive choices of HIV positive individuals attending primary health care facilities in a South African health district

BackgroundThere is global recognition of the reproductive health rights of people living with HIV (PLHIV). The aim of this research study was to explore the reproductive choices, and the factors influencing these choices, of HIV positive patients attending primary health care (PHC) facilities in the Ekurhuleni health district of the Gauteng Province of South Africa.MethodsDuring 2013, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Ekurhuleni health district. At each of three randomly selected community health centres, a random sample of HIV positive patients was selected. After informed consent was obtained, trained fieldworkers administered a structured questionnaire that elicited information on socio-demographics, reproductive choices and knowledge of reproductive options. Survey data were analysed using STATA® 13.ResultsThe majority of survey participants (n = 430) were female (70%) and unemployed (57%). The mean age of participants was 36.4 years (SD 8.6): 40.8 years (SD 8.7) for men and 34.5 years (SD7.8) for women.Among survey participants, 46% expressed a desire for children (95% CI: 41.4–50.9). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, predictors of desire for children were age less than 49 years, marriage or living together, and no biological children. The odds of wanting children was 16.48 [95% CI: 5.94–45.74] times higher for PLHIV without children, compared with those with two or more children, while for those less than 25 years, the odds of wanting children was 0.78 [95% CI: 0.23–2.59] compared with those older than 50 years.The PLHIV knowledge on the available reproductive options was limited, with the majority relying on the guidance of the health workers.ConclusionHealth care providers at PHC level should be educated to address the reproductive health needs of PLHIV. These aspects should be reflected in provincial and national health policies.

What Should be Prepared for the Mutual Accreditation for Medical Health Licenses When Korea Opens to Physicians and Dentists from the Rest of the World

What Should be Prepared for the Mutual Accreditation for Medical Health Licenses When Korea Opens to Physicians and Dentists from the Rest of the World