# Equitable Maternal Care for Women with Disability: EMeralD

> **NIH NIH R03** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $67,821

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Worldwide, there are over one billion people with a disability, of these roughly 80% residents of low- and
middle-income countries. People with disabilities continue to encounter challenges to accessing and utilizing
essential health services. Women with disabilities in particular experience greater barriers to getting their
maternal health needs met, and face unique complications related to pregnancy and childbearing, compared to
women without disabilities. In Uganda, despite enactment of the national Persons with Disabilities Act in 2006,
women with disabilities continue to face physical inaccessibility, negative attitudes of health workers, high
health service costs, and marginalization, which impede their ability to access quality and affordable health
care. The Equitable Maternal Care for Women with Disability (EMeralD) study is designed to collect and
analyze quantitative and qualitative evidence to develop a model for disability-friendly services that address
barriers to accessing maternal health care by pregnant women with disabilities to improve outcomes in
Uganda. The study team from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHU), USA, Makerere
University School of Public Health (MUSPH), Uganda, and Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic
Surveillance Site (IM-HDSS), Uganda, will explore the lived experiences and barriers to access and utilization
of maternal health care services (i.e., care received during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period) of
pregnant women with disabilities, and apply the findings to develop a program for disability-friendly services
that can be piloted at IM-HDSS and other districts in Uganda. This project has 3 specific aims. (1) We will
conduct an analysis of disability, pregnancy and birth outcomes, and maternal health care utilization data for
pregnant women with disabilities in Uganda, combining available quantitative data on service utilization and
disability. Our analysis will clarify the incidence and outcomes of pregnancy in women with disabilities, types
and causes of their disability, availability and access to maternal care services during pregnancy, and any
unmet needs. (2) We will conduct qualitative research (key informant interviews with district health officials and
community leaders; in-depth interviews with women with disabilities who are currently pregnant or have
delivered in the previous 1 year, and their caregivers; and focus group discussions) to understand the needs
and perceptions of pregnant women with disabilities and identify facilitators of and and barriers to access to
maternal health care services. (3) Using the findings of Aims 1 and 2, we will develop a model for disability-
friendly services for pregnant women, using a community-based service model to be implemented at the
district level. To identify key factors and components for building a disability-friendly health services programs
for local stakeholders, we will hold a peer review wor...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986829
- **Project number:** 5R03HD097471-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Abdulgafoor M. Bachani
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $67,821
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986829

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986829, Equitable Maternal Care for Women with Disability: EMeralD (5R03HD097471-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986829. Licensed CC0.

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