Health Literacy: The Impact It Has on Access to Health Care Services. Should This Be a Part of All PA Programsʼ Coursework?

The availability of health care services is an important issue, however, improving availability of health care services does not necessarily mean better accessibility for everybody. The main aim of this study is to find out how better availability in the care of acute myocardial infarction vary with accessibility of patients’ geographical location within Hungary. We applied statistical analysis and interview techniques to unfold the role of spatiality in the conditions of access to health care. Results of statistical analysis indicate significant health inequalities in Hungary. Decreasing national mortality rates of acute myocardial infarction, has been coupled by increasing spatial inequalities within the country especially at micro-regional level. According to in-depth interviews with local health care stakeholders we defined factors that support access to health care as well as important barriers. The supporting factors are related to the improvement of availability (i.e. infrastructural developments), while geographical distance, lack of material and human resources, or low level of health literacy proved to be the most relevant barriers. Main conclusion is that barriers to accessibility and availability are not only spatial but are also based on individual stages of acute myocardial infarction care. The development of cardiac catheter centres in Hungary has improved the short-term chances of infarction survival, but long-term survival chances have worsened in recent years due to deficiencies in rehabilitation care as well as low level of health literacy.

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Does Decentralization Improve Provision of Health Services? Evidence from Kisumu and Makueni Counties in Kenya

10.31237/osf.io/xef7a ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Racheal Omukhulu Makokha

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Services ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Public Services ◽

Published Data ◽

County Governments ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact

The last five decades have seen uncountable debates on the impact of decentralization on provision of public services. While it has evidently improved public service delivery in some countries, it has worsened it in others. Kenya implemented devolution in 2013 in the hope of bringing public services nearer to the people. Health was one of the services identified. Yet, the local media has reported negative impact of devolution on provision of health services since 2013. This study sought to look at the actual effect of devolution on access to health care services by analysing secondary quantitative data from the government published data, official statistics, international development agencies’ surveys and reports. Two county governments; Kisumu and Makueni were chosen to represent the urban and rural populations respectively. Contrary to the wider literature on health decentralization, this study found out that devolution did not worsen access to health care services in Kenya. The study attributed this to the nature of devolution adopted in the country where the county governments have considerable authority, decision-making power and responsibility over their counties.

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Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey

Journal of Services Marketing ◽

10.1108/jsm-06-2020-0256 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

N. Ela Gokalp Aras ◽

Sertan Kabadayi ◽

Emir Ozeren ◽

Erhan Aydin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Institutional Theory ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Public Health Care ◽

Content Type ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to refugees’ exclusion from health-care services. More specifically, using institutional theory, this paper identifies regulative pillar-, normative pillar- and cultural/cognitive pillar-related challenges that result in refugees having limited or no access to health-care services. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on both secondary research and empirical insights from two qualitative fieldwork studies totaling 37 semi-structured meso-level interviews, observations and focus groups in three Turkish cities (Izmir, Ankara and Edirne), as well as a total of 42 micro-level, semi-structured interviews with refugees and migrants in one large city (Izmir) in Turkey. Findings This study reveals that systematically stratified legal statuses result in different levels of access to public health-care services for migrants, asylum seekers or refugees based on their fragmented protection statuses. The findings suggest access to health-care is differentiated not only between local citizens and refugees but also among the refugees and migrants based on their legal status as shaped by their country of origin. Originality/value While the role of macro challenges such as laws and government regulations in shaping policies about refugees have been examined in other fields, the impact of such factors on refugee services and well-being has been largely ignored in service literature in general, as well as transformative service research literature in particular. This study is one of the first attempts by explicitly including macro-level factors to contribute to the discussion on the refugees’ access to public health-care services in a host country by relying on the institutional theory by providing a holistic understanding of cognitive, normative and regulative factors in understanding service exclusion problem.

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Challenges in accessing health care services : Canadian children living in mixed-status families

10.32920/ryerson.14652033 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Ayla Caplan

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Immigration Status ◽

Uninsured Patients ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact ◽

Mixed Status Families ◽

Mixed Status

Few studies have explored the prevalence of Canadian children with family members that have precarious legal status and the impact of parental immigration status on a child's access to health care in Canada. This quantitative research study uses a rights-based approach to discuss secondary data collected retrospectively between 2005-2009 at a medical clinic for uninsured patients in eastern Toronto, Ontario (n=128). Demographic, immigration, and health-related factors are presented, and parental immigration status and health-seeking behaviours are explored. Findings indicate that: many Canadian children (Canadian-born and naturalized Canadians) are uninsured; Canadian children who attend the clinic are sick, as opposed to accessing well-child check-ups; and, a group of Canadian children living in mixed-status families are accessing health care facilities for medically uninsured patients. This study highlights mixed-status families, and the potential impact on children's access to health care. This study helps fill the research gap regarding uninsured Canadian children. It is intended to increase community and professional awareness about impingements made in fulfilling Canadian children's right to access the "universal" health care services they have been promised. In turn, this research could inform future policy, practice, and research within health care, educational, and governmental domains.

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Challenges in accessing health care services : Canadian children living in mixed-status families

10.32920/ryerson.14652033.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Ayla Caplan

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Immigration Status ◽

Uninsured Patients ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact ◽

Mixed Status Families ◽

Mixed Status

Few studies have explored the prevalence of Canadian children with family members that have precarious legal status and the impact of parental immigration status on a child's access to health care in Canada. This quantitative research study uses a rights-based approach to discuss secondary data collected retrospectively between 2005-2009 at a medical clinic for uninsured patients in eastern Toronto, Ontario (n=128). Demographic, immigration, and health-related factors are presented, and parental immigration status and health-seeking behaviours are explored. Findings indicate that: many Canadian children (Canadian-born and naturalized Canadians) are uninsured; Canadian children who attend the clinic are sick, as opposed to accessing well-child check-ups; and, a group of Canadian children living in mixed-status families are accessing health care facilities for medically uninsured patients. This study highlights mixed-status families, and the potential impact on children's access to health care. This study helps fill the research gap regarding uninsured Canadian children. It is intended to increase community and professional awareness about impingements made in fulfilling Canadian children's right to access the "universal" health care services they have been promised. In turn, this research could inform future policy, practice, and research within health care, educational, and governmental domains.

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Legislative and executive translation of the right to have access to health care services

Law Democracy & Development ◽

10.4314/ldd.v14i1.7 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

M Pieterse

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Right

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Access to health care and Informal Patient Payments for health care in Serbia

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.774 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

S Buch Mejsner ◽

S Lavasani Kjær ◽

L Eklund Karlsson

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health System ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Local Population ◽

Civil Servants ◽

Care Providers ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health

Abstract Background Evidence often shows that migrants in the European region have poor access to quality health care. Having a large number of migrants seeking towards Europe, crossing through i.e. Serbia, it is crucial to improve migrants' access to health care and ensure equality in service provision Aim To investigate what are the barriers and facilitators of access to health care in Serbia, perceived by migrants, policy makers, health care providers, civil servants and experts working with migrants. Methods six migrants in an asylum center and eight civil servants in the field of migration were conducted. A complementary questionnaire to key civil servants working with migrants (N = 19) is being distributed to complement the data. The qualitative and quantitative data will be analysed through Grounded Theory and Logistic Regression respectively. Results According to preliminary findings, migrants reported that they were able to access the health care services quite easily. Migrants were mostly fully aware of their rights to access these health care services. However, the interviewed civil servants experienced that, despite the majority of migrants in camps were treated fairly, some migrants were treated inappropriately by health care professionals (being addressed inappropriately, poor or lacking treatment). The civil servants believed that local Serbs, from their own experiences, were treated poorer than migrants (I.e. paying Informal Patient Payments, poor quality of and access to health care services). The interviewed migrants were trusting towards the health system, because they felt protected by the official system that guaranteed them services. The final results will be presented at the conference. Conclusions There was a difference in quality of and access to health care services of local Serbs and migrants in the region. Migrants may be protected by the official health care system and thus have access to and do not pay additional fees for health care services. Key messages Despite comprehensive evidence on Informal Patient Payments (IPP) in Serbia, further research is needed to highlight how health system governance and prevailing policies affect IPP in migrants. There may be clear differences in quality of and access to health care services between the local population and migrants in Serbia.

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Substantive Equality in South African Health Care: The Limits of Law

Medical Law International ◽

10.1177/096853320000400203 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 111-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Charles Ngwena

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

South African ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Health Care Reforms ◽

Structural Inequality ◽

Care Services ◽

Substantive Equality ◽

African Health ◽

Access To Health

The article considers the scope and limits of law as an instrument for facilitating equitable access to health care in South Africa. The focus is on exploring the extent to which the notion of substantive equality in access to health care services that is implicitly guaranteed by the Constitution and supported by current health care reforms, is realisable for patients seeking treatment. The article highlights the gap between the idea of substantive equality in the Constitution and the resources at the disposal of the health care sector and the country as a whole. It is submitted that though formal equality in access to health care services has been realised, substantive equality is currently unattainable, if it is attainable at all, on account of entrenched structural inequality, general poverty and a high burden of disease.

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Medicaid Policy Statement

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.93.1.135 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 93 (1) ◽

pp. 135-136

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Policy Statement ◽

Medicaid Program ◽

Term Care ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

Children First ◽

Poor Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes the achievements of the Medicaid program in improving access to health care services for poor children. Despite recent legislative expansions to extend eligibility to more poor and disabled children and to broaden the scope of preventive and treatment services in all states, several additional program improvements are needed to eliminate the following barriers to access: 1. Federal and state fiscal crises are creating major roadblocks to Medicaid program implementation and expansion. 2. Thousands of poor children will not be eligible for Medicaid until October 1, 2001.1 3. Only a portion of those who are potentially eligible for Medicaid apply for coverage, and many eligible children do not utilize services. 4. Fewer Medicaid funds are available for primary and preventive care because of the increasing need for long-term care services. 5. Early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment (EPSDT)/preventive health services are being received by too few children and the implementation of expanded service coverage under EPSDT, granted in 1989, is subject to a great deal of inconsistent state interpretation. 6. Inadequate provider reimbursement reduces children's access to health care services. The Academy has developed the "Children First" proposal which calls for the elimination of Medicaid and replaces it with a one-class, private insurance system of universal access to health care for all children through age 21 and for all pregnant women.2 However, until the "Children First" proposal, or a similar health care reform initiative is implemented, the Academy recommends the following policy actions to improve the current Medicaid program.

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