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Access to health care in an age of austerity: disabled people’s unmet needs in Greece

ROTAROU, Elena S
SAKELLARIOU, Dikaios
2017

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Since late 2009, Greece has been dealing with the effects of a debt crisis. The neoliberal principles embedded in the three structural adjustment programmes that the country accepted have required radical cuts in health care funding, which in turn have led to widening inequalities in health. This article focuses on access to health care for people with disabilities in Greece in the context of these structural adjustments. We investigate possible differences in unmet health care needs between people with and without disabilities, using de-identified cross-sectional data from the European Health Interview Survey. The sample included 5400 community- dwelling men and women aged 15 years and over. The results of the logistic regressions showed that people with disabilities report higher unmet health care needs, with cost, transportation, and long waiting lists being significant barriers; experience of all barriers was positively associated with low socio- economic status. These findings suggest that a section of the population who may have higher health care needs face greater barriers in accessing services. Austerity policies impact on access to health care in both direct and indirect ways, producing long-term disadvantage for disabled people. Social policies and comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation might help to address some of the barriers this population faces.

Inequalities in access to health care for people with disabilities in Chile: the limits of universal health coverage

ROTAROU, Elena S
SAKELLARIOU, Dikaios
2017

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We analysed cross-sectional data collected as part of the National Socioeconomic Characterisation Survey (2013) in Chile, in order to explore if there are differences in access to health care between adult Chileans with and without disability. The study included 7459 Chilean adults with disability and 68,695 people without disability. Logistic regressions were performed in order to determine the adjusted odds ratios for the associated variables. We found that despite universal health coverage, Chileans with disabilities are more likely to report worse access to health care, even when controlling for socio-economic and demographic variables, including age, gender and income. Specifically, they are more likely to face greater difficulty arriving at a health facility, obtaining a doctor’s appointment, being attended to in a health facility, paying for treatment due to cost, and obtaining necessary medicine. Both people with and without disability are more likely to face difficulties in accessing health services if they are affiliated with the public health provider, an indication of the economic factors at play in accessing health care. This study shows that universal health coverage does not always lead to accessibility of health services and underlines the disadvantaged position of disabled people in Chile in accessing health services. While efforts have been made recently to improve equity in health care access, disability in Chile poses an additional burden on people’s access to health care, emphasising the necessity for policy to address this perpetual cycle of disadvantage for disabled people.

DFID policy on standards of accessibility for disabled people in DFID financed education construction

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID)
January 2014

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This guidance provides standards for any new or renovation construction education projects funded directly by DFID to allow access by people with disabilities. It promotes use of the fully comprehensive AusAID guidelines on Universal Design and includes a provision for a waiver of the application of standards in certain circumstances

Globalisation and the impact on health : a third world view

HONG, Evelyne
August 2000

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This paper looks at globalisation from the perspective of the South, concentrating on its impact on health through the various agreements that have been 'forced' on countries in the South, for example the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement. It also looks at the impact of Structural Adjustment Policies

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