Addressing access barriers to health services: an analytical framework for selecting appropriate interventions in low-income Asian countries
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 12 May 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Health Policy and Planning
- Vol. 27 (4), 288-300
- https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czr038
Abstract
While World Health Organization member countries embraced the concept of universal coverage as early as 2005, few low-income countries have yet achieved the objective. This is mainly due to numerous barriers that hamper access to needed health services. In this paper we provide an overview of the various dimensions of barriers to access to health care in low-income countries (geographical access, availability, affordability and acceptability) and outline existing interventions designed to overcome these barriers. These barriers and consequent interventions are arranged in an analytical framework, which is then applied to two case studies from Cambodia. The aim is to illustrate the use of the framework in identifying the dimensions of access barriers that have been tackled by the interventions. The findings suggest that a combination of interventions is required to tackle specific access barriers but that their effectiveness can be influenced by contextual factors. It is also necessary to address demand-side and supply-side barriers concurrently. The framework can be used both to identify interventions that effectively address particular access barriers and to analyse why certain interventions fail to tackle specific barriers.Keywords
This publication has 57 references indexed in Scilit:
- Access to maternal and perinatal health services: lessons from successful and less successful examples of improving access to safe delivery and care of the newbornTropical Medicine & International Health, 2010
- A maternal health voucher scheme: what have we learned from the demand-side financing scheme in Bangladesh?Health Policy and Planning, 2010
- Promoting health equity in conflict-affected fragile statesSocial Science & Medicine, 2010
- Contracting for health and curative care use in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2005Health Policy and Planning, 2009
- Barriers to access and the purchasing function of health equity funds: lessons from CambodiaBulletin of the World Health Organization, 2009
- Universal coverage of health services: tailoring its implementationBulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
- Improving access to reproductive and child health services in developing countries: are competitive voucher schemes an option?Journal of International Development, 2007
- Targeted intervention for the ultra poor in rural Bangladesh: Does it make any difference in their health-seeking behaviour?Social Science & Medicine (1982), 2006
- Decentralization in Zambia: resource allocation and district performance.Health Policy and Planning, 2003
- Decentralization of health systems in Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and the Philippines: a comparative analysis of decision spaceHealth Policy and Planning, 2002