Hesperian Health Guides
Working for change
HealthWiki > A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities > Chapter 5: Taking care of your body > Working for change
What families and caregivers can do
Care from our families and helpers makes our lives easier in many ways. They can also help us to be more independent by encouraging us to do as much as we can to take care of our own bodies. Even so, as women with disabilities, we may need extra help to:
- get enough good healthy food and clean water.
- exercise and stretch to keep our bodies strong and flexible.
- bathe, and clean our teeth.
- remove stool or urine and change the cloths or pads used to absorb monthly bleeding.
- check, clean and treat pressure sores.
- keep some medicines and supplies at home or nearby, especially if medical care is far away. Try to include pain relievers, an antibiotic for urine or skin infections, clean gauze, and any medicines used regularly to treat her disability.
Most of us who are blind or deaf can take care of our own physical needs. But we may still need help getting information to keep ourselves healthy. For example, a blind person may need you to read health education information out loud to her—even if the information is about things you usually would not speak about. And a deaf person may need you to tell her about important health messages you hear on the radio or from a health worker.
What communities can do
Communities can do a lot to improve the conditions that will allow us to take care of our bodies so we can remain healthy. Many women with disabilities are poor and some live isolated lives. Like everyone else, we need access to care, nutritious food, clean water and sanitation, and a safe place to live. We also need the companionship and respect of our neighbors. Talk to us and to our families about things the community can do to help us look after our health.
- Some of us may need daily care from our families and helpers. Community leaders and neighborhood groups can arrange other help so our needs can be met and our family and regular helpers get a break.
- Many older women with disabilities are very poor, live alone, or have a hard time finding someone to help us. By arranging for helpers or companions—or giving practical support in other ways—the community can greatly improve our lives.
- Help us farm our fields or go to market so we can have enough good food.
- Work to make sure that women with disabilities have access to clean water.
- Organize your community to build or remodel latrines and toilets so they can be safely used by people with disabilities.
For more information on how communities and families can stay healthy, see Where Women Have No Doctor, Chapter 10, and the booklets Sanitation and Cleanliness and Water for Life.
There are many ways to make toilets easier to use for children and adults with disabilities. Be creative in finding and showing the community solutions that fit your needs.
If a person has difficulty squatting, make a simple hand support or a raised seat. Or, if the toilet is set in the ground, make a hole in the seat of the stool or chair and place it over the toilet.
If a person has difficulty controlling her body, make supports for her back, sides, and legs, and a seat belt or bar.
Use a rope or fence to guide blind people from the house to the toilet.
If a person has difficulty adjusting or removing her clothes, adapt her clothing to make it loose or elastic. Make a clean, dry place to sit or lie down and dress.
If a person has difficulty sitting you can make moveable handrails and steps.
Toilets for wheelchairs:
Remind people in the community that anyone with a disability has the same need for privacy as anyone else and should get the privacy they need.