scholarly journals Assessing equity of the spatial distribution of primary health care facilities in Fuzhou City, China: A comprehensive method

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261256
Author(s):  
Ninglong You

Background It is well known that equity assessment of the spatial distribution of primary health care facilities (PHCFs) is significant to optimize the allocation of health care resources and enhance the ability to react to public health emergencies, yet there is much discussion about the poor effectiveness of assessment for many cities due to the limitations of the insufficient ability of traditional data to reflect residents’ demands, etc. In many cities where PHCFs are inequity distributed, this is urgently needed for the government. Methods Using Fuzhou City, China as a case study, we propose a comprehensive method for assessing the equity that consisting of two frameworks based on the Geographic Information System. The first framework is assessing resident demand based on daily demand and potential demand, and the second is assessing PHCFs supply based on road impedance. This method combines an index system based on multi-source data and a spatial matching analysis between resident demand and PHCFs supply based on the supply-demand disparity index. Results The demand degree for the PHCFs and the supply degree of accessing the PHCFs of different residential areas differ to great extents. The equity of the spatial distribution of PHCFs shows well overall, but there is still a lack of equity in local areas. The number of the residential areas with the lowest equity, insufficient supply and oversupply accounted for 10.31% and 39.00% respectively; the former is mainly gathered in a concentrated form at the edge and in a scattered form inside, and the latter is distributed in the interior mostly in a concentrated manner. Conclusion The key findings highlight several aspects of improving the layout of PHCFs such as strengthen an in-depth analysis on residents’ demand. This study contributes to a more accurate equity assessment, and further improves the layout of health care facilities.

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne Ahiabu ◽  
Britt P Tersbøl ◽  
Richard Biritwum ◽  
Ib C Bygbjerg ◽  
Pascal Magnussen

Author(s):  
Alexandro Pinto ◽  
Luciana Sepúlveda Köpcke ◽  
Renata David ◽  
Hannah Kuper

Poor accessibility of healthcare facilities is a major barrier for people with disabilities when seeking care. Yet, accessibility is rarely routinely audited. This study reports findings from the first national assessment of the accessibility of primary health care facilities, undertaken in Brazil. A national accessibility audit was conducted by trained staff of all 38,812 primary healthcare facilities in Brazil in 2012, using a 22-item structured questionnaire. An overall accessibility score was created (22 items), and three sub-scales: external accessibility (eight items), internal accessibility (eight items), information accessibility (six items). The main finding is that the overall accessibility score of primary care facilities in Brazil was low (mean of 22, standard deviation (SD) of 0.21, on a 0–100 scale). Accessibility of different aspects of the healthcare facilities was also low, including external space (mean = 31.0, SD = 2.0), internal space (18.9, 1.9) and accessibility features for people with other visual or hearing impairments (6.3, SD = 1.0). Scores were consistently better in the least poor regions of Brazil and in facilities in larger municipality size (indicating more urban areas). In conclusion, large-scale accessibility audits are feasible to undertake. Poor accessibility means that people with disabilities will experience difficulties in accessing healthcare, and this is a violation of their rights according to international and Brazilian laws.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 677-683
Author(s):  
R. Giel ◽  
M. V. de Arango ◽  
C. E. Climent ◽  
T. W. Harding ◽  
H. H. A. Ibrahim ◽  
...  

To ascertain the frequency of mental disorders in Sudan, Philippines, India, and Colombia, 925 children attending primary health care facilities were studied. Rates of between 12% and 29% were found in the four study areas. The range of mental disorders diagnosed was similar to that encountered in industrialized countries. The research procedure involved a two-stage screening in which a ten-item "reporting questionnaire" constituted the first stage. The study has shown that mental disorders are common among children attending primary health care facilities in four developing countries and that accompanying adults (usually the mothers) readily recognize and report common psychologic and behavioral symptoms when these are solicited by means of a simple set of questions. Despite this, the primary health workers themselves recognized only between 10% and 22% of the cases of mental disorder. The results have been used to design appropriate brief training courses in childhood mental disorders for primary health workers in the countries participating in the study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 569-575
Author(s):  
Lucia Drigo ◽  
Masane Luvhengo ◽  
Rachel T. Lebese ◽  
Lufuno Makhado

Background: Pregnant woman’s personal experience of antenatal care services can either be positive or negative; however, knowledge and experience appear to be of paramount importance in shaping their attitudes towards any healthcare-related services. This implies that women's experience of antenatal care services may affect their decision for seeking antenatal care in their present pregnancy, which can lead them to delay seeking care. Purpose: This study sought to explore the attitudes of pregnant women towards antenatal care services provided in primary health care facilities of Mbombela Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Methods: A qualitative exploratory descriptive study design was used for this study. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample pregnant women who fail to attend antenatal services as expected. Data were collected through face to face unstructured in-depth interview. A total of eighteen pregnant women participated in the study until data saturation. Data were analysed using Tech’s method of analysis. Results: Results revealed the following theme and sub-themes: Attitudes of pregnant women related to individual perceptions, perceived barriers to utilizing antenatal care services,’ attitudes of healthcare providers, long waiting times in healthcare facilities, lack privacy and confidentiality in healthcare facilities and attitudes of pregnant women related to attendance of antenatal services. Conclusion: Attitudes of pregnant women about antenatal care are shaped by their knowledge and previous encounters with the health care services that they had previously received. It is therefore important to provide women-friendly services. It is recommended that health education regarding the importance of antenatal care services must be given to all women daily in the waiting areas of each primary health care facilities, thus, the healthcare providers should promote the active participation of pregnant women during the health education sessions and provide opportunities to ask questions.


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