scholarly journals Perceived Health Issues: A perspective from East-African immigrants

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P-L Shipp ◽  
S. A. Francis ◽  
K. R. Fluegge ◽  
S. A. Asfaw
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services

This Study explores Somali and Ethiopian community leaders’ perceptions about health issues in their communities and the barriers to access and utilization of primary health care services. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders and thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews. Participants identified chronic diseases, the unhealthy behaviors associated with them, and mental health as major health issues. Infectious diseases were secondarily mentioned as important health concerns. Lack of insurance and limited understanding of the health system were viewed as barriers to utilizing health care services. Other identified needs were: better education within immigrant communities about major health issues, enhanced cultural awareness of health care providers, improved health care access, and assistance with the acculturation process. Recommendations to improve the communities’ health status included enhancing providers' cultural competence, educating immigrants about major health issues, and increasing mental health care access.

scholarly journals Access to general health care services by a New Zealand population with serious mental illness

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Wheeler ◽  
Brian McKenna ◽  
Dominic Madell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Population ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
General Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services

INTRODUCTION: Literature suggests that good quality health care access can have a positive impact on the health of people with serious mental illness (SMI), but literature relating to patterns of access by this group is equivocal. AIM: This study was designed to explore health care access patterns in a group of people with SMI and to compare them with a general New Zealand population group, in order for health providers to understand how they might contribute to positive health outcomes for this group. METHODS: The study surveyed 404 mental health consumers aged 18–65 years receiving care from one district health board in Auckland about their patterns of health care access. Results were compared with those from the New Zealand Health Survey of the general population. RESULTS: Findings suggest that the SMI consumer respondents had poorer physical health than the general population respondents, accessed health care services in more complex ways and were more particular about who they accessed for their care than the general population respondents. There was some concern from SMI consumers around discrimination from health care providers. The study also suggested that some proactive management with SMI consumers for conditions such as metabolic syndrome was occurring within the health care community. DISCUSSION: The first point of access for SMI consumers with general health problems is not always the family general practitioner and so other health professionals may sometimes need to consider the mental and physical health of such consumers in a wider context than their own specialism. KEYWORDS: General practice; health services accessibility; mental disorders; mental health; primary health care

Impact of restricting access to health care services on Syrian refugees in Jordan: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibraheem Khaled Abu Siam ◽  
María Rubio Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Cost ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services

Purpose Access to health-care services for refugees are always impacted by many factors and strongly associated with population profile, nature of crisis and capacities of hosing countries. Throughout refugee’s crisis, the Jordanian Government has adopted several healthcare access policies to meet the health needs of Syrian refugees while maintaining the stability of the health-care system. The adopted health-care provision policies ranged from enabling to restricting and from affordable to unaffordable. The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of restricted level of access to essential health services among Syrian refugees in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach This paper used findings of a cross-sectional surveys conducted over urban Syrian refugees in Jordan in 2017 and 2018 over two different health-care access policies. The first were inclusive and affordable, whereas the other considered very restricting policy owing to high inflation in health-care cost. Access indicators from four main thematic areas were selected including maternal health, family planning, child health and monthly access of household. A comparison between both years’ access indicators was conducted to understand access barriers and its impact. Findings The comparison between findings of both surveys shows a sudden shift in health-care access and utilization behaviors with increased barriers level thus increased health vulnerabilities. Additionally, the finding during implementation of restricted access policy proves the tendency among some refugees groups to adopt negative adaptation strategies to reduce health-care cost. The participants shifted to use a fragmented health-care, reduced or delayed care seeking and use drugs irrationally weather by self-medication or reduce drug intake. Originality/value Understanding access barriers to health services and its negative short-term and long-term impact on refugees’ health status as well as the extended risks to the host communities will help states that hosting refugees building rational access policy to protect whole community and save public health gains during and post crisis. Additionally, it will support donors to better mobilize resources according to the needs while the humanitarian actors and service providers will better contribute to the public health stability during refugee’s crisis.

scholarly journals The Association of Residence Permits on Utilization of Health Care Services by Migrant Workers in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9623
Author(s):  
Haochuan Xu ◽  
Han Yang ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Xuefeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Impact

Due to the limitations in the verifiability of individual identity, migrant workers have encountered some obstacles in access to public health care services. Residence permits issued by the Chinese government are a solution to address the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers. In principle, migrant workers with residence permits have similar rights as urban locals. However, the validity of residence permits is still controversial. This study aimed to examine the impact of residence permits on public health care services. Data were taken from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS). Our results showed that the utilization of health care services of migrant workers with residence permits was significantly better than others. However, although statistically significant, the substantive significance is modest. In addition, megacities had significant negative moderating effects between residence permits and health care services utilization. Our research results emphasized that reforms of the household registration system, taking the residence permit system as a breakthrough, cannot wholly address the health care access inequality in China. For developing countries with uneven regional development, the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers is a structural issue.

scholarly journals The shared experiences of insured members and the uninsured in health care access and utilization under Ghana’s national health insurance scheme: Evidence from the Hohoe Municipality

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244155
Author(s):  
Suraiya Umar ◽  
Adam Fusheini ◽  
Martin Amogre Ayanore
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
National Health Insurance Scheme ◽  
Insurance Scheme ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Barriers To Health

Background The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in Ghana in 2003 to remove financial barriers and to promote equitable access to health care services. Post implementation has been characterized by increases in access and utilization of services among the insured. The uninsured have been less likely to utilize services due to unaffordability of health care costs. In this study, we explored the experiences of the insured members of the NHIS, the uninsured and health professionals in accessing and utilizing health care services under the NHIS in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. Methods Qualitative in-depth interviews were held with twenty-five NHIS insured, twenty-five uninsured, and five health care professionals, who were randomly sampled from the Hohoe Municipality to collect data for this study. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Participants identified both enablers or motivating factors and barriers to health care services of the insured and uninsured. The major factors motivating members to access and use health care services were illness severity and symptom persistence. On the other hand, barriers identified included perceived poor service quality and lack of health insurance among the insured and uninsured respectively. Other barriers participants identified included financial constraints, poor attitudes of service providers, and prolonged waiting time. However, the level of care received were reportedly about the same among the insured and uninsured with access to quality health care much dependent on ability to pay, which favors the rich and thereby creating inequity in accessing the needed quality care services. Conclusion The implication of the financial barriers to health care access identified is that the poor and uninsured still suffer from health care access challenges, which questions the efficiency and core goal of the NHIS in removing financial barrier to health care access. This has the potential of undermining Ghana’s ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 of universal health coverage by the year 2030.

scholarly journals Health Care Access Among Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers, 31 States, 2017-2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492199668
Author(s):  
Winifred L. Boal ◽  
Jia Li ◽  
Sharon R. Silver
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
The Past ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Access To Health

Objectives Essential workers in the United States need access to health care services for preventive care and for diagnosis and treatment of illnesses (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] or other infectious or chronic diseases) to remain healthy and continue working during a pandemic. This study evaluated access to health care services among selected essential workers. Methods We used the most recent data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2017-2018, to estimate the prevalence of 4 measures of health care access (having health insurance, being able to afford to see a doctor when needed, having a personal health care provider, and having a routine checkup in the past year) by broad and detailed occupation group among 189 208 adults aged 18-64. Results Of all occupations studied, workers in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations were most likely to have no health insurance (46.4%). Personal care aides were most likely to have been unable to see a doctor when needed because of cost (29.3%). Construction laborers were most likely to lack a personal health care provider (51.1%) and to have not had a routine physical checkup in the past year (50.6%). Compared with workers in general, workers in 3 broad occupation groups—food preparation and serving; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; and construction trades—had significantly lower levels of health care access for all 4 measures. Conclusion Lack of health insurance and underinsurance were common among subsets of essential workers. Limited access to health care might decrease essential workers’ access to medical testing and needed care and hinder their ability to address underlying conditions, thereby increasing their risk of severe outcomes from some infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Improving access to health care for all workers, including essential workers, is critical to ensure workers’ health and workforce stability.

Farmers’ contact with health care services prior to suicide: evidence for the role of general practitioners as an intervention point

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katerina Kavalidou ◽  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Diego De Leo
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Agricultural Workers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Intervention Point

Suicide in Australian rural communities has received significant attention from researchers, health practitioners and policymakers. Farmers and agricultural workers have been a focus of particular interest, especially in relation to levels of help seeking for mental health concerns. A less explored area, however, is the level of contact that Australian farming and agriculture workers who die by suicide have had with health providers for physical, rather than mental, health conditions. It is often assumed that farmers and agricultural workers have lower levels of contact with health care services than other rural residents, although this assumption has not been well tested. Using data from the Queensland Suicide Register, this paper describes levels of contact with health care providers in the 3 months before death by suicide among men in farming and agriculture occupations and other occupations in rural Queensland. No significant differences were found in farming and agricultural workers’ levels of contact with a general practitioner when compared with other rural men in Queensland. The current findings lend weight to the view that rural general practitioners represent an important intervention point for farming and agriculture workers at risk of suicide (whether or not those individuals exhibit accompanying psychiatric illness).

scholarly journals Barriers to accessing health care services: A qualitative study of migrant construction workers in a Southwestern Indian city

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maija Santalahti ◽  
Kumar Sumit ◽  
Mikko Perkiö
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Access To Health

Abstract Background: This study examined access to health care in an occupational context in an urban city of India. Many people migrate from rural areas to cities, often across Indian states, for employment prospects. The purpose of the study is to explore the barriers to accessing health care among a vulnerable group – internal migrants working in the construction sector in Manipal, Karnataka. Understanding the lay workers’ accounts of access to health services can help to comprehend the diversity of factors that hinder access to health care. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews involving 15 migrant construction workers were conducted. The study applied theory-guided content analysis to investigate access to health services among the construction workers. The adductive analysis combined deductive and inductive approaches with the aim of verifying the existing barrier theory in a vulnerable context and further developing the health care access barrier theory. Results: This study’s result is a revised version of the health care access barriers model, including the dimension of trust. Three known health care access barriers – financial, cognitive and structural, as well as the new barrier (distrust in public health care services), were identified among migrant construction workers in a city context in Karnataka, India. Conclusions: Further qualitative research on vulnerable groups would produce a more comprehensive account of access to health care. The socioeconomic status behind access to health care, as well as distrust in public health services, forms focal challenges for any policymaker hoping to improve health services to match people’s needs.

Health seeking behaviour and health awareness among rural and urban adolescents in Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuhin Kumar ◽  
Piyalee Pal ◽  
Prabhdeep Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Public Sector Health

Abstract Background: Adolescents constituted 19% population of India in 2011. Adolescents have health seeking behaviour different from that of adults. We estimated the utilisation of available health care services by adolescents and awareness regarding various health issues in the urban and rural Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India. We also described knowledge and practices of public sector health care providers. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among adolescents 10–19 years in the urban Dehradun and rural Chakrata block of the Dehradun District. We used cluster sampling with sample size 680 each in urban and rural areas. We collected data from adolescents using semi structured questionnaire on health awareness and utilisation of health care services. Public sector health care providers were surveyed about their knowledge and practices regarding adolescents health. Results: We surveyed 1463 adolescents. The overall mean age was 14.4 (2.6) years, about half being females. Half of the adolescents who had any illness used the public sector. Awareness about anaemia was 48% in urban and 12% in rural areas. A higher proportion of females (Rural: 89%, Urban: 76%) were aware of condoms as contraceptives than males (Rural: 68%, Urban: 12%). Only 62% of doctors and 49% of paramedical staff had knowledge regarding services under Adolescents Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH). Conclusion: Awareness regarding various health issues was low among males as compared to females, especially in rural areas. School based health promotion programs should be carried out to increase awareness among adolescents. Health facilities should be strengthened to provide adolescent friendly health services to enhance utilisation.

scholarly journals Community mental health nurses’ experience of decentralised and integrated psychiatric-mental health care services in the Southern mental health region of Botswana (part 1)

Curationis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.K. Maphorisa ◽  
M. Poggenpoel ◽  
C.P.H. Myburgh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Mental Health Nurses ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Community Mental Health Nurses

Since the inception of the decentralisation and integration of psychiatric mental health care services into the general health care delivery system in Botswana, there has never been a study to investigate what community mental health nurses are experiencing due to the policy. Many of these nurses have been leaving the scantily staffed mental health care services in increasing numbers to join other sectors of health or elsewhere since the beginning of the implementation of the policy. During the research study, phenomenological in-depth interviews were conducted with three groups of 12 community mental health nurses altogether. An open central question was posed to each group followed by probing questions to explore and describe these nurses’ experience of the decentralisation and integration of psychiatric-mental health care services. After the data was analysed, related literature was incorporated and guidelines for advanced psychiatric nurses were formulated and described to assist these nurses to cope with the decentralisation and integration of psychiatric-mental health care services. The guidelines were set up for the management of the community mental health nurses who are experiencing obstacles in the quest for mental health which also interfere with their capabilities as mental health care providers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document