Assessing health and rehabilitation needs of people with disabilities in Cameroon and India.
PURPOSE
To assess the association between disability and serious health problems, and the access and uptake of health and rehabilitation services in Cameroon and India.


METHODS
We undertook a population-based case-control study, nested within a survey in Fundong Health District, North West Cameroon (August-October 2013) and in Mahbubnagar District, Telangana State, India (February-April 2014). Disability was defined as the presence of self-reported difficulties in functioning or clinical impairments. One control without disability was selected per case, matched by age, gender and cluster. Information was collected using structured questionnaires on: socioeconomic status, health, access to health services and rehabilitation.


RESULTS
Cases with disability were significantly more likely to report a serious health problem in the last year compared to controls in both India (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 2.1-4.8) and Cameroon (OR = 1.9, 1.4-2.7). The vast majority of people sought care when seriously ill, and this did not vary between cases and controls. Awareness and use of rehabilitation services was extremely low in both Cameroon and India.


CONCLUSIONS
Further focus is needed to improve awareness of rehabilitation services among people with disabilities in India and Cameroon to ensure that their rights are fulfilled and to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage. Implications for Rehabilitation People with and without disabilities equally seek health care in India and Cameroon. However, people with disabilities experience more frequent serious health problems than people without. Extremely few people with disabilities were aware of rehabilitation services despite their existence in the study settings.
['Mactaggart|Islay|I|', 'Kuper|Hannah|H|', 'Murthy|G V S|GV|', 'Sagar|Jayanthi|J|', 'Oye|Joseph|J|', 'Polack|Sarah|S|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D002163:Cameroon D016022:Case-Control Studies D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D006233:Disabled Persons D005260:Female D006297:Health Services Accessibility D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand D006304:Health Status D006801:Humans D007194:India D016015:Logistic Models D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D015999:Multivariate Analysis D012923:Social Class D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
Assessment disability Cameroon India health needs low-middle income countries