BACKGROUND: People with disabilities face inequalities in many areas of life, including their frequent experience of barriers to accessing healthcare services. The Zika epidemic revealed gaps in the Brazilian healthcare system for children with disabilities, however, evidence is lacking on adults with disabilities accessing the healthcare system. Additionally, people with disabilities may face exclusion in research. Participatory Visual Methodologies, especially with the use of videos, can empower individuals, facilitate communication, promote inclusivity, and actively participate in research concerning them, but have rarely been used with people with disabilities. This thesis broadens the understanding of healthcare access for people with disabilities in Brazil by also examining relevant contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean and exploring the experiences of caregivers of children affected by Zika in Colombia. These regional insights enrich the overall analysis and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the barriers and facilitators to healthcare access in Brazil. STUDY AIM: The study aim was to understand healthcare access in Brazil from both a broad and zoomed in perspective, involving people with disabilities, as well as exploring more accessible ways to engage people with disabilities in research. METHODS: The aim will be achieved through these objectives: To systematically review the literature to understand barriers and facilitators to primary healthcare access among adults with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean; Investigate barriers and facilitators to primary healthcare access among adults with disabilities in Brazil, using in-depth interviews; Explore the feasibility of using participatory visual methodologies in disability research; Explore the use of Participatory Video as a method in health research involving people with disabilities. KEY FINDINGS: The systematic review highlighted healthcare access barriers such as urban infrastructure, attitudinal barriers, and inaccessible health information for people with different impairments. The in-depth interviews and Participatory Video supported the findings from the systematic review. The Participatory Video led to a better involvement of people with different disabilities in the study, providing different means of expression, it enriched the findings, led to social change and empowerment through data collection and dissemination. Using participatory visual methods supported data collection to involve people in different ways, both in the process as well as the impact during dissemination, and it was both feasible and acceptable. CONCLUSION: People with disabilities in Brazil have a good understanding of their healthcare needs, however, there are barriers that get in the way of those needs being met, and the use of visual methods supports an in-depth understanding of these challenges.