EXPLORING DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE HOSPITAL CARE IN LEBANON: LIVED EXPERIENCES AND A READINESS ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS

Description :

equitable hospital-based healthcare in Lebanon. Despite representing a significant proportion of the population estimated at 10–15% in Lebanon PwDs continue to encounter environments and systems that are poorly adapted to their needs. Hospitals often lack accessible infrastructure, inclusive communication strategies, and adequately trained staff. These gaps not only compromise the quality of care received but also result in negative experiences for both patients and healthcare professionals, who often feel ill-prepared to provide disability-inclusive services. To respond to these challenges, the study adopts a qualitative-driven mixed-methods approach to explore the lived experiences of PwDs and their caregivers in navigating hospital care, as well as the perspectives of healthcare professionals responsible for delivering such care. The findings will inform the development of a practical, context-specific hospital readiness assessment tool. This tool aims to evaluate the extent to which hospitals are equipped to meet the needs of PwDs across key domains such as physical accessibility, communication, staff training, and institutional protocols. The project is structured around four interrelated work packages: a literature review and conceptual framework to ground the study in global and local evidence; qualitative data collection with PwDs and caregivers to document real-world challenges; qualitative data collection with healthcare professionals to assess readiness and identify system-level gaps; and the design, validation, and pilot implementation of the hospital readiness assessment tool. By generating locally relevant evidence and a validated tool for assessing readiness, and identify system-level gaps; and the design, validation, and pilot implementation of the hospital readiness assessment tool.