TITLE:
Structural Accessibility of Gynecological Nursing Clinics for Users with Motor Disabilities in Basic Health Units
AUTHORS:
Ana Talyne Pessoa, Beatriz da Silva Lima, Lorita Marlena Freitag Pagliuca, Paula Marciana Pinheiro de Oliveira, Leilane Barbosa de Sousa, Paulo César de Almeida, Luciana Vieira de Carvalho, Aline Cruz Esmeraldo Áfio
KEYWORDS:
Nursing, Health Services Accessibility, Disabled Persons
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.5 No.10,
October
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: A quantitative descriptive study aimed to evaluate the physical structure accessibility of gynecological nursing clinics and their bathrooms in basic health units for users with motor disabilities. A checklist tool/instrument was applied for analyzing 16 items in the bathroom and four in the nursing clinic. 157 basic health units were evaluated. In the nursing clinic, counters and tables (79.6%) were accessible, but stretchers (93%), seats (93.6%) and doors (87.3%) were inaccessible; moreover, 17.8% of the units examined proved totally inaccessible. In the bathroom, the items with the best evaluation were the height of the toilet flusher (47%) with operation by slight pressure (44.6%) and the wall-mounted sink (42.7%). Bathroom doors and turning area/space for wheelchairs were inaccessible. No bathroom reached full accessibility, and 31.2% were entirely inaccessible. Non-compliance was evident of the standard 9050:2004 of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards. Raising the awareness of health and engineering professionals is recommended to learn technical accessibility standards and implement them.