Perceptions about Marriage of People Living with Physical Disability in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality

Abstract

Background There is little interest in the sexual lives of PLWPD. It is usually assumed that PLWPD have little or no desire to engage in sexual intimacy, marriage or procreation. Little attention is paid to these aspects of the lives of PLWPD. PLWPD are often thought of as incapable of enjoying the same rights as people without physical disability and thus discouraged from pursuing marriage, sexual intimacy and childbearing. This study explored perceptions about marriage of people living with physical disability. Methods The study was a cross-sectional survey that employed both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to answer research questions. The data was collected from households in ten selected communities in Manya Krobo Municipality using structured questionnaires and interview guides. The study participants were both PLWPD and abled bodied members of the community within the ages of 18-65 years old. Qualitative data were analyzed using manual thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using Stata version 15 statistical software. The sample size for this study was 429 for quantitative and 20 for qualitative. Findings The findings of this study reveal that there is unfavourable perception (55.3%) about the marriage of people living with physical disability. It was shown that younger respondents, low level of education, and belief that cause of disability is spiritual were factors that were associated with unfavourable perceptions about marriage of PLWPD. Conclusion The findings of this study reveal that there is unfavourable perception about the marriage of people living with physical disability. Factors influencing these beliefs in the study community were age, educational status and cause of disability. PLWPD in the study expressed positive views about marriage.