Health Care : Current Reviews

Understanding access to care: Lessons from a Malawian study

2^nd Annual Congress and Medicare Expo on Primary Care & General Pediatrics

September 19-20, 2016 Phoenix, USA

Joni K Roberts

University of Mississippi Medical Center, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Health Care: Current Reviews

Abstract:

According to healthy people 2020, approximately 25% of Americans do not have primary care physician or a health center for regular services, this same number of people also lack health insurance. The debate of access to healthcare has long surrounded around health insurance coverage, costs associated with care and transportation. However, access to healthcare is much more perplexed than insurance coverage, fees and transportation. A recent study accessing barriers to care among pregnant urban women in Malawi has identified contributors to the access to health care problem beyond insurance, costs and transportation. Malawi is considered the poorest country in the world and has universal healthcare for all residents at all government health facilities. In spite of full coverage of care, Malawi continues to see an underutilization of services among its citizenâ??s especially pregnant mothers. Roberts, J., et al., identified three main barriers to accessing care among pregnant women: Culture; patient-provider relationship and; facility systemic operations. This paper discusses these barriers and identifies ways to use this knowledge to improve health care access for all.

Biography :

Email: jroberts4@umc.edu