Women's right to sight and women's health identity in Guatemala

To contribute to the growing literature on gender disparity in global blindness, this capstone provides an understanding of women’s eye health service use in Guatemala. Informed by intersectionalist and post-colonial frameworks, I used a mixed methods approach to conduct a secondary analysis of medical records, questionnaires and interview transcripts. The quantitative data, similar to most developing countries, reveals a gender disparity in rural and Indigenous populations. Through analysis of qualitative data o women, fear and isolation were found as barriers to service use. Results also reveal the role of social connection in increasing access to eye care services. Informed by these findings, the policy alternatives cater to the needs of different populations of women through increased social connection and trust building. To empower and provide opportunities for social connections, collaboration between local and international human rights organizations and with eye clinics is recommended.