Unmet Needs as Sociomedical Indicators

Carr, Willine; Wolfe, Samuel

doi:10.2190/mcg0-uh8d-0ag8-vfnu

Cited by 124 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Unmet needs, which are defined as “the difference between services judged necessary to deal appropriately with health problems and services actually received” [4], are considered as simple tools in monitoring the accessibility and the extent of inequity in access and use of health care [5]. Past research has shown that unmet health needs result from barriers that are related to the health system and to characteristics or personal attitudes of the individuals [2,5,6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Unmet Health Needs in Primary Health Care Services in a Representative Sample of the Greek Population

Pappa

Kontodimopoulos

Papadopoulos

et al. 2013

IJERPH

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Unmet health care needs are determined as the difference between the services judged necessary and the services actually received, and stem from barriers related to accessibility, availability and acceptability. This study aims to examine the prevalence of unmet needs and to identify the socioeconomic and health status factors that are associated with unmet needs. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Greece in 2010 and involved data from 1,000 consenting subjects (>18 years old). Multiple binary logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate the predictors of unmet needs and to determine the relation between the socio-demographic characteristics and the accessibility, availability and acceptability barriers. Ninety nine participants (9.9%) reported unmet health needs during the 12 months prior to the research. The most frequently self-reported reasons were cost and lack of time. Youth, parenthood, physician consultations, and poor mental health increased the likelihood of unmet needs. Women were less likely to report accessibility and availability than acceptability barriers. Educational differences were evident and individuals with primary and secondary education were associated with significantly more accessibility and availability barriers compared with those with tertiary education. Unmet health needs pose a significant challenge to the health care system, especially given the difficult current financial situation in Greece. It is believed that unmet health needs will continue to increase, which will widen inequalities in health and health care access.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Unmet Health Needs in Primary Health Care Services in a Representative Sample of the Greek Population

Pappa

Kontodimopoulos

Papadopoulos

et al. 2013

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Van de Port et al (2007) characterized unmet need as the invisible factors that may significantly affect health and well-being but that go undetected and unattended by the formal healthcare system. It must be kept in mind that unmet need is typically defined by the individual experiencing it and that that individual is often in some degree of distress (Mechanic 2003), however, Carr and Wolfe (1976) supported this as an appropriate way of assessing unmet need, particularly among populations at risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unmet health care needs of people with disabilities: population level evidence

McColl

Jarzynowska²,

Shortt

2010

Disability & Society

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The present study examined population level data on unmet needs for adults with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities, using the National Population Health Survey. The study revealed that disabled adults (aged 20-64) reported more than three times as many unmet health care needs as their non-disabled counterparts. Even after controlling for the effects of age, gender and poor health, disability had a significant effect on the perception of unmet needs, particularly disabilities associated with pain, hearing impairment and emotional problems. The greatest deterrent to receiving needed services among individuals with disabilities was cost. Despite being publicly funded and thereby presumably equally accessible to all, the health care system in Canada fails to meet the needs of some of its most vulnerable constituents -adults with disabilities.

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“…In a 2003-2004 survey, 11.7% of Canadians reported unmet health care needs, defined as any instance that health care was not received when it was needed. 1 This was an increase from an estimated 4% in 1994-1995. Unmet health care needs are also more pronounced among people with low income; the homeless and vulnerably housed; sexual minorities; women; people with one or more mental disorders, substance dependence or co-occurring disorders; and adults with disabilities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Unmet health care needs among sex workers in five census metropolitan areas of Canada

Benoit

Ouellet

Jansson

2016

Can J Public Health

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OBJECTIVES: This paper examines unmet health care needs in one of Canada's most hard-to-reach populations, adult sex workers, and investigates whether their reasons for not accessing health care are different from those of other Canadians.METHODS: Data gathered in 2012-2013 from sex workers aged 19 and over (n = 209) in five Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs) were analyzed to estimate the perceived health, health care access and level of unmet health care needs of sex workers, and their principal reasons for not accessing health care. These data were collected using questions identical to those of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Cycle 2.1, 2003. The results were compared with those of residents aged 19 and over in the same CMAs who had participated in the CCHS.RESULTS: Sex workers reported notably worse perceived mental health, poorer social determinants of health (with the exception of income) and nearly triple the prevalence of unmet health care needs (40.4% vs. 14.9%). Those with the greatest unmet health care needs in both groups were younger, unmarried or single and in poorer health, and reported lower income and a weaker sense of community belonging. Even without these within-group risk factors, sex workers were more likely to report unmet health care needs compared with CCHS respondents. Sex workers were also more likely to identify "didn't get around to it", "too busy", "cost", "transportation problems" and "dislike doctors/afraid" as reasons for eschewing care.CONCLUSION: Equity policies that reduce cost and transportation barriers may go some way in helping sex workers access needed health care. Qualitative research is needed to better understand the realities of sex workers' personal and work lives, including the degree of freedom they have in accessing health care when they need it, but also their experiences when they do manage to engage with the health care system. KEY WORDS: Social determinants of health; access to health care; sex workers; unmet health care needs; barriers La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

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Unmet Needs as Sociomedical Indicators

Cited by 124 publications

References 7 publications

Investigating Unmet Health Needs in Primary Health Care Services in a Representative Sample of the Greek Population

Investigating Unmet Health Needs in Primary Health Care Services in a Representative Sample of the Greek Population

Unmet health care needs of people with disabilities: population level evidence

Unmet health care needs among sex workers in five census metropolitan areas of Canada

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