Limited access to healthcare services refers to the inability of a patient to conveniently reach the location of a healthcare facility and medical practitioner for quality and timely medical attention. Part of the contributors of limited access to healthcare includes healthcare shortage of workforce and low levels of health literacy. Members of the public in any given country ought to have confident and convenient access to healthcare services such as emergency medical attention, public health services, behavioral health, and dental care. The challenges associated with the issue of limited access to healthcare are often experienced by the population living in marginalized areas such as rural areas. In such marginalized areas, there are always various barriers that exist such as poor infrastructure and absence of developmental initiatives (Kottke & Isham, 2014).
Elements of the Problem and Causes
Access to healthcare services entails the assistance offered to individuals or groups of people that enables them to command and benefit from using appropriate and adequate healthcare resources. Access to healthcare services may be regarded as a complex phenomenon that involves the understanding of various aspects of its evaluation. In this respect, the availability of healthcare services implies an adequate presence or supply of such services coupled with an existing opportunity to acquire the services. The extent to which a given population may have access to healthcare services is largely influenced by cultural, social, organizational or economic barriers that may essentially bring about limitations to the utilization of such services (Adepoju, Preston & Gonzales, 2015).
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As such, unlimited access to healthcare evaluated concerning the levels of utilization is largely dependent on the acceptability of the services being offered, physical accessibility of the location at which the healthcare facility is situated, and the affordability of such services. The available healthcare service ought to be appropriate and adequate to meet the health needs of the target population. To this extent, the issue of limited access to healthcare would be considerable addressed in a manner that ensures that the target population can health experiences and outcomes that are satisfactory. The availability of healthcare services and the existing barriers are often taken into consideration when it comes to the need to understand different perspectives, cultural and social settings, and health requirements of diverse groups in a given society (Brown & McBride, 2015).
To this extent, the elimination of limited access to healthcare considers both the vertical and horizontal aspects of equity. With the phenomenal growth and development in healthcare technologies in the last couple decades, most individuals would be tempted to think that technology is capable of fixing all the issues and challenges facing healthcare. However, the issue of limited access to healthcare remains a challenge that continues to plague groups of people and individuals living in remote and rural areas. Some of the major challenges that have often contributed towards the existence of limited access to healthcare include lack efficient transportation for patients, inadequate or lack of health insurance coverage for everybody that needs it, and high levels of poverty (Kottke & Isham, 2014).
Analysis
The analysis by Brown and McBride (2015) identified the causes associated with limited access to healthcare services as high and unaffordable costs of healthcare, insufficient or lack of medical services as well as the inadequate availability of competent healthcare givers and medical practitioners. To that extent, it is important to understand that limited access to healthcare services often contribute to growing financial burdens, hospitalization of patients suffering from preventable diseases, delays in obtaining appropriate healthcare services, and unmet needs of patients suffering from various diseases. In some instances, access to healthcare services faces limitations owing to various forms of discrimination such as the ones based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability status, residential location, and gender identity.
Quality and comprehensive healthcare services play a crucial role when it comes to the maintenance and promotion of a healthy population for a given country or region. Moreover, unlimited access to quality healthcare makes it possible for the relevant authorities and institutions in the health sector to manage and prevent the spread of diseases, reduces cases of premature death and unnecessary disability as well as contributing towards the achievement of equity in healthcare service provision for all individuals without any form of discrimination. The findings by Brown and McBride (2015) demonstrate that limited access to healthcare in different regions around the word is attributable to different causes. For instance, healthcare concerns in Somalia that have made it difficult for most members of the public to have unlimited access to healthcare are primarily associated with unfavorable environmental and political complications.
The World Health Organization has admitted that it is difficult for the majority of people living in Somalia to find and receive essential and basic medical services. Political instability, continual armed conflict, terrorism, recurring conditions of draught, forced evictions, high levels of environmental stress and overcrowding are some of the reasons that have contributed to the complex nature of the state of healthcare access in Somalia. Other contributors to the delivery of poor healthcare services in this region include contamination of drinking water and increasing cases of malnutrition that have resulted in increased number of disease outbreaks. In this regard, the high number of disease outbreaks experienced in this region has gone to the extent of overwhelming the limited number of health facilities and health practitioners ( Brown & McBride, 2015).
According to Brown & McBride (2015), the state of healthcare in Nigeria presents another example that demonstrates the existing link between a deplorable healthcare system and limited access to healthcare services. In this case, Nigeria has previously reported considerable struggles with an inadequate number of healthcare practitioners such as doctors, nurses and midwives thereby making it a challenge for patients to receive quality and appropriate medical services at the right time. Furthermore, the distribution of the limited number of healthcare facilities and healthcare practitioners in this country is often skewed to urban areas thus resulting in significant shortages of medical services for patients in rural areas.
Importance of the Issue
The issue limited access to healthcare services is important in the sense that it makes it possible for researchers to understand the level and extent of disparities that exist in the health sector. In this regard, the existing differences concerning the provision and access to healthcare are based on a wide variety of factors. Another importance associated with the issue of unlimited access to healthcare, as clarified by Kottke and Isham (2014), is that it provides an opportunity for the various stakeholders in the health sector to understand the need for urgent improvements. Furthermore, the highlighting of this issue makes it possible and easier to promote healthy behaviors among people with the objective of eliminating several health risk factors.
Affected Populations
Some of the populations that are most commonly affected by the issue of unlimited access to healthcare include the growing numbers of poor people in developing countries, the marginalized, and those discriminated fore one way or the other. Individuals and communities living in countries are facing considerable levels of poverty. In this case, the limited access to health services arises from the financial and social challenges experienced by the poor people living in developing countries. Another group of people that is vulnerable to the risk of being faced with unlimited access to healthcare comprises of the old and disabled. In this case, the movement of these groups of people to different places in search of quality healthcare is often met with considerable challenges of inability to cover long distances. The absence of efficiently working road networks to certain areas also makes it quite difficult for the old age and those suffering from various forms of disabilities to access to access timely and quality health services (Adepoju, Preston & Gonzales, 2015).
Consideration of Options and Finding Solutions
Various solutions would be available for considerations when it comes to addressing the some of the causes of limited access to healthcare. The issue of lack of transportation for patients could be solved by focusing on some areas. Such areas include the consideration of allocation of transportations services to the most vulnerable communities to facilitate access to healthcare services and healthcare providers. The ethical implication of this solution would entail finding a delicate balance between offering genuine transportation services to the vulnerable members of a given community and introducing the business aspect of the transportation system (Kottke & Isham, 2014).
Another solution entails ensuring that medical appointments are scheduled in such a manner makes it possible for patients for different parts and regions within a country are transported to the nearest health facility whenever there is an urgent medical need. The challenge of transportation barrier could also be solved or efficiently addressed through utilization of telemedicine facilities as well as the involvement of non-medical means of transportation. The flip side of this solution would be the challenge of preventing exploitation of the patients by some unscrupulous business individuals who may want to operate the non-medical means of transportation with the aim of making uncontrolled profits (Brown & McBride, 2015).
The challenges of insufficient or lack of medical insurance cover among patient requiring medical attention could be addressed through the introduction of outreach programs seeking to enrol and connect uninsured patients with appropriate means of financing their healthcare services. Proper planning could also be adopted by the relevant authorities in the health sector to ensure that the distribution of medical facilities and healthcare practitioners is done in a manner that is commensurate with the size of the population living in a given area. This initiative would lead to a reduction in cases of limited access to healthcare services resulting from healthcare facilities being concentrated in urban areas at the expense of the patient in the rural areas (Adepoju, Preston & Gonzales, 2015).
Implementation
The implementation of various options and solutions considered in addressing the health concerns emanating from the issue of limited access to healthcare calls for an all-inclusive approach where all the relevant stakeholders are brought onboard. In this respect, the views and plight of the patients, medical practitioners, healthcare givers, health policymakers, and members of the general public would be expected to form the basis upon which implementation of various solutions take place. Kottke and Isham (2014) maintain that strategic and structured approach is necessary for ensuring that there is a considerable improvement concerning the quality and access of healthcare services to every part of the population that needs such services.
Conclusion
In summing up, it is worth indicating that the existing gaps in accessing healthcare have significantly contributed to increasing levels of limited access to healthcare among different categories and groups of people. Limited access to healthcare continues to be challenges that troubles groups of people and individuals living in remote and rural areas. Nonetheless, various solutions would be available for implementation to ensure a reduction in the prevalence of limited access to healthcare services.
References
Adepoju, O. E., Preston, M. A., & Gonzales, G. (2015). Healthcare Disparities in the Post Affordable Care Act Era. American Journal of Public Health , 105 (Suppl 5), S665- S667. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302611
Brown, D. S., & McBride, T. D. (2015). Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Access to Care for US Adults With Diabetes, 2011–2012. Preventing Chronic Disease , 12 , E64. http://doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140431
Kottke, T. E., & Isham, G. J. (2014). Measuring Healthcare Access and Quality to Improve Health in Populations. Preventing Chronic Disease , 7 (4), A73.
