What This Means
This research explores why young people with disabilities (ages 10–24) in Kyotera, a border district in Uganda, struggle to access sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 12 young people with physical disabilities and 7 community and health experts. They found that barriers exist at three levels: personal, community, and healthcare facility. Personally, many young people with disabilities did not know SRH services were available to them, and low self-esteem made them reluctant to seek help. At the community level, negative beliefs about the futures and worth of people with disabilities — captured in the phrase 'we don't see a future in them' — prevented families and communities from supporting access to SRH care. At the health facility level, poor communication between providers and patients with disabilities, shortages of essential supplies, and dismissive or negative attitudes from healthcare workers all made it harder for YPWD to receive care.
This research matters because it highlights that young people with disabilities are often overlooked in sexual and reproductive health programs, even in high-risk settings like border districts where early sexual activity is more common. The combination of social stigma, personal barriers, and inadequate health services creates a compounding disadvantage for this group. This suggests that simply making clinics available is not enough — meaningful change requires addressing attitudes in communities and among health workers, improving communication accessibility, ensuring adequate supplies, and raising awareness among YPWD themselves about what services exist and that they are entitled to them.
The findings point toward the need for inclusive health policies that specifically account for the needs of young people with disabilities, in line with global goals to ensure no one is left behind in development progress. This research suggests that interventions should target all three levels — individual, community, and facility — simultaneously to be effective, and that the voices and experiences of young people with disabilities themselves should be central to designing those interventions.