Report on Honduras: Ripples in the Pond—The Financial Crisis and Remittances to Chronically ILL Patients in Honduras

Abstract

The U.S. financial crisis has affected employment opportunities for Latino immigrants, and this could affect their ability to send financial assistance, or "remittances", to chronically ill family members in their home country. In a cross-sectional survey of 624 chronically ill adults conducted in Honduras between June and August 2009, respondents reported their receipt of remittances, health service use, and cost-related access barriers. Fifty-four percent of respondents reported relatives living outside the country, and of this group, 66 percent (37% of the overall sample) received remittances. Seventy-four percent of respondents receiving remittances reported a decrease over the prior year, mostly due to job losses among their relatives abroad. Respondents reporting reductions in remittances received significantly less per month, on average, than those without a reduction (US $170 vs. $234; p = 0.01). In multivariate models, respondents experiencing a reduction in remittances used fewer health services and medications due to cost concerns. Remittance payments from relatives resident in the United States are a major source of income for chronically ill individuals in Latin America. Most recipients of remittances reported a reduction during the financial downturn that affected their access to care.

Physical rehabilitation in Iran after international sanctions: explored findings from a qualitative study

“…As a whole, disabled and chronically ill patients who make up a large portion of physical rehabilitation recipients, are most affected following economic crisis. For instance, after the economic recession, vulnerable groups had limited access to health care services in Greece, Honduras, Iraq, and Syria [ 12 , 33 – 36 ]. These findings are in agreement with a UNICEF statement which reported that most vulnerable and least culpable groups endure the heaviest consequences [ 37 ].…”

International Migration and Health in the Countries of Origin. The Effect on Households with Migrants and/or Recipients of Remittances, and on Returned Migrants. A Systematic Review

“…The migration effect on health is caused in part, by means of monetary transfers (remittances), or non-monetary transfers (cultural practices, norms and social arrangements) (17). It is clear that remittances can decrease during economic crisis, which affects health outcomes of the receiving families (number of visits to the hospital to take care of medical emergencies or amount of money destined to buy medications) (69). Remittances and repatriated savings alter the levels of income and wealth and the contact with health practices used in the countries of destination, increases knowledge about health and makes the use of financial resources more efficient (3).…”

“…Regarding the access to or use of health services, it can be highlighted that receiving remittances affects positively the use of antiparastitic (60) and diabetes (24) medication, the use of outpatient and non-outpatient health services by children (38) and the substitution of public health services for private ones (31). On the other hand, patients who report the decrease of remittances are less likely to visit a hospital and take less prescribed medication (69).…”

Physical rehabilitation financing in Iran: a policy analysis using Kingdon’s multiple streams

“…Despite the significance of financing in the provision of health services such as PRS, in almost all countries there is no specific financial resource for PRS [7,11]; hence, many of these services are with no insurance coverage and are mainly provided by the private sector [4]. On the other hand, since people with disability and vulnerable groups form a major proportion of the service recipients, they face catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) [12], and this is against the goals of UHC [13].…”