Reflections on health promotion and disability in low and middle-income countries: Case study of parent-support programmes for children with congenital zika syndrome

Abstract

Universal health coverage (UHC) has been adopted by many countries as a national target for 2030. People with disabilities need to be included within efforts towards UHC, as they are a large group making up 15% of the world’s population and are more vulnerable to poor health. UHC focuses both on covering the whole population as well as providing all the services needed and must include an emphasis on health promotion, as well as disease treatment and cure. Health promotion often focusses on tackling individual behaviours, such as encouraging exercise or good nutrition. However, these activities are insufficient to improve health without additional efforts to address poverty and inequality, which are the underlying drivers of poor health. In this article, we identify common challenges, opportunities and examples for health promotion for people with disabilities, looking at both individual behaviour change as well as addressing the drivers of poor health. We present a case study of a carer support programme for parents of children with Congenital Zika Syndrome in Brazil as an example of a holistic programme for health promotion. This programme operates both through improving skills of caregivers to address the health needs of their child and tackling poverty and exclusion.