Abstract:
BACKGROUND:The recent economic and financial crisis in Portugal urged the Portuguese Government in April 2011 to request financial assistance from the troika austerity bail out program to get aid for its government debt. The troika agreement included health reforms and austerity measures of the National Health Service (NHS) in Portugal to save non-essential health care costs. This research aimed to identify potential barriers among the elderly population (aged 65 and above) to healthcare access influenced by the economic crisis and the troika agreement focussing on the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality (MoU) in Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. METHODS:The qualitative study is including 13 semi-structured interviews of healthcare experts, municipality authority, health care providers, negotiator of the troika agreement, hospital managers, health economists and elderly. A content analysis was performed to evaluate the interviews applying Nvivo2011 software. The barriers identified were clustered towards the five areas of the 'Conceptual framework on health care access' by Levesque et al. (Int J Equity Health 12:18, 2013). RESULTS:Healthcare access for the elderly was found inadequate in four areas of the framework: availability; appropriateness; approachability; and affordability. The fifth area on acceptability was not identified since the study neither followed a gender nor ethnic specific purpose. The main identified barriers were: current financial situation and pension cuts; insufficient provision and increased user fees in primary care; inadequate design and availability of hospital care service; lack of long-term care facilities; increased out-of-pocket-payment on pharmaceuticals; limitations in exemption allowances; cuts in non-emergent health transportation; increased waiting time for elective surgery; and poor unadapted housing conditions for elderly. CONCLUSIONS:The health reforms and health budget cuts in the MoU implemented as part of the troika agreement have been associated with increasing health inequalities in access to healthcare services for the elderly population. The majority of responses disclosed an increasing deficiency across the entire National Health Service (NHS) to collaborate, integrate and communicate between the different healthcare sectors for providing adequate care to the elderly. An urgent necessity of restructuring the health care system to adapt towards the elderly population was implied.
journal_name
Int J Equity Healthjournal_title
International journal for equity in healthauthors
Doetsch J,Pilot E,Santana P,Krafft Tdoi
10.1186/s12939-017-0679-7subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2017-10-25 00:00:00pages
184issue
1issn
1475-9276pii
10.1186/s12939-017-0679-7journal_volume
16pub_type
杂志文章abstract:BACKGROUND:Effective implementation can maximise the beneficial impacts of health services. It is therefore important to review implementation in the context of Indigenous populations, who suffer some of the greatest disadvantage within developed countries. This paper analyses Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (her...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0337-5
更新日期:2016-03-10 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:To investigate the association between multimorbidity and Preference_Weighted Health Related Quality of Life (PW_HRQoL), a score that combines physical and mental functioning, and how this varies by socioeconomic deprivation and age. DESIGN:The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) is a cross-sectional representativ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-12-67
更新日期:2013-08-20 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:'Caring for Country' is defined as Indigenous participation in interrelated activities with the objective of promoting ecological and human health. Ecological services on Indigenous-owned lands are belatedly attracting some institutional investment. However, the health outcomes associated with Indigenous par...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-26
更新日期:2008-12-18 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Efficiency and equity are both important policy objectives in resource allocation. The discipline of health economics has traditionally focused on maximising efficiency, however addressing inequities in health also requires consideration. Methods to incorporate equity within economic evaluation techniques ra...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-8-34
更新日期:2009-10-07 00:00:00
abstract:INTRODUCTION:Evidence to date indicates that patients from ethnic minority backgrounds may experience disparity in the quality and safety of health care they receive due to a range of socio-cultural factors. Although heightened risk of patient safety events is of key concern, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-020-01223-2
更新日期:2020-07-08 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:In 2007 Uruguay began a reform in the health sector towards the construction of a National Integrated Health System (SNIS), based on public insurance with private and public provision. The main objective of the reform was to universalize access to health services. METHODS:Data comes from the first National ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-020-01237-w
更新日期:2020-10-26 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Mexico has undertaken important efforts to decrease maternal mortality. Health authorities have introduced intercultural innovations to address barriersfaced by indigenous women accessing professional maternal and delivery services. This study examines, from the perspective of indigenous women, the barriers ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0289-1
更新日期:2015-12-23 00:00:00
abstract:: Poverty is often identified as a major barrier to human development. It is also a powerful brake on accelerated progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Poverty is also a major cause of maternal mortality, as it prevents many women from getting proper and adequate medical attention due to their inability to ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 社论
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-11
更新日期:2008-04-30 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The inequitable allocation of health resources is a worldwide problem, and it is also one of the obstacles facing for health services utilization in China. A new round of health care reform which contains the important aspect of improving the equity in health resource allocation was released by Chinese gover...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0357-1
更新日期:2016-04-19 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Like other African countries, Tanzania has in recent years, been implementing various exemptions and targeting programmes to protect and ensure equitable access to health care by poorer segments of the population. A body of evidence indicates that exemption policies, while potentially effective in principle,...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-12-80
更新日期:2013-09-26 00:00:00
abstract::Overcoming continuing polarization regarding judicial enforcement of health rights in Latin America requires clarifying divergent normative and political premises, addressing the lack of reliable empirical data, and establishing the conditions for fruitful inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary dialogue. ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-019-1005-3
更新日期:2019-07-04 00:00:00
abstract::The unifying theme of the papers in this series is a concern for understanding the everyday practice of governance in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) health systems. Rather than seeing governance as a normative health system goal addressed through the architecture and design of accountability and regulatory fram...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 社论
doi:10.1186/s12939-017-0665-0
更新日期:2017-09-15 00:00:00
abstract::BACKGROUND: Research on health equity which mainly utilises population-based surveys, may be hampered by serious selection bias due to a considerable number of invitees declining to participate. Sufficient information from all the non-responders is rarely available to quantify this bias. Predictors of attendance, magn...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-3-3
更新日期:2004-05-06 00:00:00
abstract::In the debate on 'Third options' for health care delivery in low- and middle-income countries it is proposed that self-help should play a larger role. Self-help is expected to contribute towards improving population health outcomes and reducing government health care expenditure. We review scope and limitations of sel...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 社论
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-3-1
更新日期:2004-04-15 00:00:00
abstract:INTRODUCTION:The prevalence of Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) in the Western world has generated considerable discussion regarding best practices in the outpatient treatment of the seriously mentally ill. Although problems encountered by ethnic minority communities in the various health care systems have been studie...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-014-0069-3
更新日期:2014-09-06 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Given the persistence of Indigenous health inequities across national contexts, many countries have adopted strategies to improve the health of Indigenous peoples. Governmental recognition of the unique health needs of Indigenous populations is necessary for the development of targeted programs and policies ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-020-1149-1
更新日期:2020-07-31 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Regulation of the medical tourism and public health sectors overlap in many instances, raising questions of how patient safety, economic growth, and health equity can be protected. The case of Guatemala is used to explore how the regulatory challenges posed by medical tourism should be dealt with in countrie...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-018-0866-1
更新日期:2018-09-20 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Lack of access to health care is a persistent condition for most African indigents, to which the common technical approach of targeting initiatives is an insufficient antidote. To overcome the standstill, an integrated technical and political approach is needed. Such policy shift is dependent on political su...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-12-91
更新日期:2013-11-15 00:00:00
abstract::BACKGROUND: The nurse-doctor relationship is historically one of female nurse deference to male physician authority. We investigated the effects of physicians' sex on female nurses' behaviour. METHODS: Nurses at an urban, university based hospital completed one of two forms of a vignette-based survey in January, 2000....
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-2-1
更新日期:2003-02-11 00:00:00
abstract:INTRODUCTION:Despite the relentless efforts to reduce infant and child mortality with the introduction of the National Expanded Programmes on Immunization (EPI) in 1974, major disparities still exist in immunizations coverage across different population sub-groups. In Kenya, for instance, while the proportion of fully ...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0154-2
更新日期:2015-02-27 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Although government has implemented medical-aid policy that provides assistance to the poor with almost free medical services, there are low-income people who do not receive necessary medical services in Korea. The aim of this study is to highlight the characteristics of Medical-Aid enrollees, the poor not e...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0257-9
更新日期:2015-11-14 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The theory of fundamental causes explains why health disparities persist over time, even as risk factors, mechanisms, and diseases change. Using an intersectional framework, we evaluated multifactorial discrimination as a fundamental cause of mental health disparities. METHODS:Using baseline data from the P...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-017-0532-z
更新日期:2017-03-04 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Social isolation among older adults raises major issues for equity in healthcare in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. MAIN TEXT:This commentary describes current challenges in preventing social isolation among older adults and proposes pathways to develop inclusive approaches to intervention in this vul...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 信件
doi:10.1186/s12939-020-01360-8
更新日期:2021-01-08 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The concept of social capital has been extensively used to explain the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescent health and well-being. Much less is known about the specific mechanism through which social capital impacts the relationship. This paper investigates whether an individual's p...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0490-x
更新日期:2016-12-12 00:00:00
abstract:CONTEXT:The Kenya Partnership for Health (KPH) program began in 1999, and is currently one of the 12 field projects participating in the WHO's 'Towards Unity for Health initiative' implemented to develop partnership synergies in support of the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach 1. CONTENT:This paper illustrates how Pr...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-4-8
更新日期:2005-06-24 00:00:00
abstract:INTRODUCTION:Many countries from the European region, which moved from a government financed and provided health system to social health insurance, would have had the risk of moving away from universal health coverage if they had followed a "traditional" approach. The Eastern European high-income countries studied in t...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0295-y
更新日期:2016-01-15 00:00:00
abstract::The purposes of this bibliography are to present an overview of the published literature on equity in health and to summarize key articles relevant to the mission of the International Society for Equity in Health (ISEqH). The intent is to show the directions being taken in health equity research including theories, me...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-1-1
更新日期:2002-04-22 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a renewed commitment of tackling the varied challenges of undernutrition, particularly stunting (SDG 2.2). Health equity is also a priority in the SDG agenda and there is an urgent need for disaggregated analyses to identify disadvantage...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12939-019-1046-7
更新日期:2019-10-15 00:00:00
abstract::This editorial provides an overview of a thematic series that brings attention to the persistently deficient and unequal access to sexual and reproductive health services for young women in sub-Saharan Africa. It represents an effort to analyze the multifaceted relationship between laws, policies and access to service...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 社论
doi:10.1186/s12939-020-1157-1
更新日期:2020-03-17 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Prior to 2007, forced sex with male children in South Africa did not count as rape but as "indecent assault", a much less serious offence. This study sought to document prevalence of male sexual violence among school-going youth. DESIGN:A facilitated self-administered questionnaire in nine of the 11 official...
journal_title:International journal for equity in health
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-20
更新日期:2008-07-29 00:00:00