Healthcare-seeking Behaviour among Working Women with Disability in Karnataka, India

Purpose: In India women constitute 44% of the total population with disabilities, which roughly amounts to around 10 million persons. This study explores healthcare-seeking behaviour among working women with disabilities in the country. Method: A cross-sectional study using a quantitative survey was conducted among 72 working women with disability to explore their patterns of health-seeking behaviour. Women with disability, between 18 and 45 years of age, who were currently working full-time and who had experienced a serious health problem in the past year were included in the study. A pre-structured questionnaire was used for the survey.  Results:Body pain (78%) followed by Urinary Tract Infections (9%) were the commonly cited health problems by the study participants. Eighty percent (80%) of women with disability sought care for their health issues. The actions that they took for their health problems depended on the severity of the disability (p-value-0.001), type of the disability (p-value-0.05), marital status (p-value-0.035) and savings (p-value-0.042) they had set aside for themselves. Monthly family income and years of disability showed correlation with the type of care that they opted for. Conclusion: Employed women with disability show a positive healthcare seeking behaviour pattern. The action they take in addressing their health issues and the type of care that they opt for depends on factors associated with their disability, marital status and financial stability or available savings.