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Objective. To characterize the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services on offer to the Central American migrant population residing in shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, and identify barriers and facilitators of access to these services by this population, from the provider perspective. Methods. An observational, mixed, cross-sectional study was conducted. Different information collection techniques--consisting of 16 semi-structured interviews with civil-society providers of SRH services to the migrant population, as well as direct observation in 10 shelters in Tijuana--were employed and triangulated. A two-stage, open, selective coding process was carried out. Content analysis was then performed, using an interpretive approach based on five dimensions: approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability, and appropriateness. Results. The provision of SRH services is composed of four elements: target population, nature of providing organization (religious or secular), services offered, and venue of care. The main barriers to access involve irregular migrant status, the low priority given to SRH services, and the discrepancy between user preferences and the services offered. Among facilitating elements, lay/secular orientation of providers and inter-institutional coordination stood out. Conclusions. The provision of SRH services by civil society organizations is wide-ranging and heterogeneous. It ranges from strictly medical attention to other services that affect SRH indirectly, with a view to providing comprehensive care. This represents an opportunity in terms of aspects to facilitate access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To examine the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on cancer care access in Chile, analyzing differential effects by insurance type, gender, and age. Methods. We conducted a quasi-experimental study using interrupted time series analysis. We used multiple data sources for a broad evaluation of cancer-related health care utilization from January 2017 to December 2020. We fit negative binomial models by population groups for a range of services and diagnoses. Results. A sharp drop in oncology health care utilization in March was followed by a slow, incomplete recovery over 2020. Cumulative cancer-related services, diagnostic confirmations, and sick leaves were reduced by one third in 2020; the decrease was more pronounced among women and the publicly insured. Early diagnosis was missed in 5132 persons with 4 common cancers. Conclusions. The pandemic stressed the Chilean health system, decreasing access to essential services, with a profound impact on cancer care. Oncology service reductions preceded large-scale lockdowns and supply-side disruptions. Importantly, not all population groups were equally affected, with patterns suggesting that gender and socioeconomic inequalities were exacerbated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the existing barriers to the care of suicidal behavior from the perspective of mental health professionals at the first level of care in Mexico City. Methodology: Qualitative exploratory study based on 35 semi-structured interviews conducted on health personnel from two national reference mental health facilities. The data were analyzed with Framework Analysis. Results: The participants considered that suicidal behavior has not been prioritized among mental health disorders. The absence of public policies, work overload, lack of patient follow-up, among others, were identified as barriers to adequate and timely care. Conclusions: Suicidal behavior prevention programs should consider the socioeconomic context of the population, the characteristics of health services, and the needs of health care providers. Professional training should be enhanced, and the referral and counter-referral system across levels of care should be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Enfermagem e Atenção à Saúde (REAS) is the property of Revista de Enfermagem e Atencao a Saude - Reas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective. Characterize the relationship between ethnic-racial inequity and type of health insurance in Colombia. Methods. Cross-sectional study based on data from the 2019 Quality of Life Survey. We analyzed the type of health insurance (contributory, subsidized, or none) and its relationship to ethnic-racial status and predisposing variables (sex, age, marital status), demographic variables (area and region of residence), and socioeconomic variables (education, type of employment, income, and unmet basic needs) through simple and multivariate regression analyses. Association between ethnic-racial status and type of health insurance was estimated using odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals, through a multinomial logistic model. Results. A statistically significant association was found between ethnic-racial status and type of health insurance. In comparison with the contributory system, the probabilities of being a member of the subsidized system were 1.8 and 1.4 times greater in the indigenous population (OR = 1.891; 95%CI: 1.600-2.236) and people of African descent (OR = 1.415; 95%CI: 1.236-1.620), respectively (p <0.01) than in the population group that did not identify as belonging to one of those ethnic-racial groups. Conclusions. There is an association between ethnic-racial status and type of insurance in the contributory and subsidized health systems in Colombia. Ethnic-racial status is a structural component of inequity in access to health services and heightens the disadvantages of people and population groups with low socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Interface - Comunicação, Saúde, Educação is the property of Fundacao UNI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Avances en Enfermería is the property of Editorial Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective. The objective of this study is to prepare a "Concept Map on Health and Intellectual Property in Central America and the Dominican Republic" in order to help identify the main access barriers to health, especially medicines, and to guide state authorities toward actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policies. Methods. The report "Concept Map on Public Health and Intellectual Property, Regional Perspective: Central America and the Dominican Republic" was analyzed. Then the knowledge generation and management methodology was applied and a search strategy was identified to recover the information for preparation of the concept maps. Results. The legal framework and institutional structure, as well as policies, programs, plans, and strategies for health and intellectual property, were identified. A set of barriers that hinder access to medicines was also identified, as well as solutions to overcome them. Conclusions. In Central America and the Dominican Republic, health strategies, policies, programs, and plans are in place, but unfortunately their scope and degree of dissemination is uneven. This, together with social and economic factors, explains why health inequity persists between and within countries. The identified barriers to access to medicines included the expansion and strengthening of the rights of pharmaceutical patent-holders, problems with implementing the flexibilities of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, pricing policies, and strict regulatory standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify adherence and to describe factors associated with realization HIV testing among carnival participants. Method: A cross-sectional study with 557 participants. Data were collected using a questionnaire. A descriptive analysis was performed and the chi-square test was used, with a significance level of 95%. Results: 66.2% have ever tested for HIV at any time in their lives, 54.2% have performed in the last 12 months and 83.8% have never taken the rapid test. There was a statistically significant association (p <0.05) in the test with the variables, gender, age group, relationship, sexual practice with the same sex, enrollment in Primary Care Units and knowledge about health services that performed the test free of charge. Conclusion: Social, cultural, gender, and access to health care issues have been shown to be more effective in stimulating testing than exposure to risky sexual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Characterize health system reform processes implemented in eight Latin American countries and evaluate their results in terms of health access and coverage conditions. Methods. Data from nationally representative household surveys were used to characterize health system reform processes in Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay and to assess resulting conditions governing health care access and coverage. Results. Five countries introduced changes to expand financial coverage, with a perspective on primary health care limited to the expansion of health service packages, while three countries prioritized changes in health service organization based on a more comprehensive approach to primary health care. Countries in the first group increased insurance coverage but saw no improvement in access to health services. In the second group of countries, important barriers to access continue to exist despite improvements. Conclusions. Health system reforms can be described in terms of the type of transformations promoted. Reforms that focus on expanding insurance coverage improve financial protection but do not result in positive changes in access. Reforms that prioritize transformations in the organization of health services lead to improved access, yet a large proportion of the population continues to report barriers to access in the countries studied. The socioeconomic conditions of the population and unstable policies stand in the way of achieving more significant progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Salud Pública is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Use of litigation to ensure and guarantee access to medical inputs constitutes one of the most effective strategies to ensure observance (or remedy the violation) of the right to health, often in relation to other fundamental human rights such as the right to life or to bodily integrity. More frequently, and in multiple national contexts, judges and courts support lawsuits filed by individuals who need immediate access to health technologies. On many occasions, the rulings that force the State and its institutions to guarantee the supply of a given product do not take into account the reasons the State gives for not providing it, which can range from cost-effectiveness calculations and evaluation, to public policy planning and implementation. Use and abuse of legal proceedings by interested third parties threaten the legitimacy of an instrument that has contributed, without a doubt, to strengthening public engagement in the defense of people's rights, including the right to health. This document is an attempt to provide a context for the evolution of this phenomenon with regard to the instruments, mechanisms, and procedures commonly used by health authorities to efficiently organize access to health technologies. In addition, steps to follow are suggested for both national and regional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Transgender population faces challenges in terms of guaranteeing the rights to health and an effective access to health services in every country. Objective: To describe and analyze the access to preventive, healing, specific care, and associated out-of-pocket health services for transgender women in Cali, Colombia. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study with probability sampling. An adaptation of the Survey on Access to Health Services for Colombian Homes was applied to a total of 109 people who identified themselves as transgender, and all of them were over 18. A univariate analysis of all variables evaluated was carried out. Results: Although 71.6% of transgender women surveyed were covered by the health system, this percentage does not guarantee timely access to services. There is an institutional weakness regarding to the Health Promoting Entities (EPS) to promote preventive services; the access to consultation with a specialist and medicines had unfavorable results in opportunity and quality; also, the needs related to their gender identity or processes of corporal transformation are not treated. Discussion: As reported in other studies, for the population in general, the findings are coherent with the Colombian health system structure which is designed to invest resources in treating diseases but not preventing them. Conclusions: Differential care protocols are required given the risks for transgender people due to the lack of medical and psychosocial care. In this way, the full right to health, and the respect for the free development of personality are guaranteed, which were constitutionally established in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To determine the use of health services, poor access to health services and socio-demographic characteristics of the homeless in the city of Medellin; in order to expand the information and future actions of prevention in this vulnerable group. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted; difficulties in accessing health services and socio-demographic characteristics of the resident population was determined street. The processing was carried out using SPSS 21.0 software. The bivariate analysis, accompanied by statistical evidence. Results. 230 homeless surveyed, 77.4% used health services in the last 6 months, 8.7% reported having difficulty accessing services. Some reasons not to access were services not always stay open with 91.7%, 4.8% say they do not have as pay for medical treatments; 9% ensures that no access to health services because they do not meet the entry requirements, 5.3% are afraid of being arrested by the authorities, reports that 9.0% of the sites are very inattentive attention staff drug user. Conclusions. For the homeless people health care is not their main concern, as the various shortcomings lead them to put health care at a lower rank, they get to claim that requiring the use of services health, it is not always easy to access by different factors such as economic resources, lack of knowledge about the path, ignorance of their rights, lack of income support and sometimes the bad attitude of health care providers the time to pay attention to that population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The access to health services is an increasingly worrying topic in the research and public policies agendas. In the case of Colombia, this topic becomes more important and attains supremacy opposite to assurance. Objective: Building a concept of access and identifying barriers, as well as strategies and alternatives to overcome them from the perspective of the actors of the health system in Medellin. Materials and Methods: qualitative research, focused on three areas of Medellin. We used techniques such as semi-structured interviews; social cartography workshops; observation and result questionnaires of the services. Results: The vision on the access is heterogeneous between actors, although some similarities and differences were identified, that allowed us to build a proposal of the concept of access. The barriers and factors that facilitate access can be attributed to factors on the offer side as well as on the demand side. Most of the barriers happen during real access, during the search and continuity of the treatment. The social characteristics of the population, such as knowledge of the system and social and community support are also determinant factors of access. Discussion and Conclusions: All actors use strategies to solve the access barriers and are affected by them on different levels. The qualitative analysis of the concept of access, of barriers and facilities, allow the identification of alternatives that may serve as components for health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows a systematic review of research works on the topic of access to health services in Colombia in the period 2000-2013. The databases used were Ebsco, Jstor, Proquest, ISI Web of Science, SCÍELO and Cochrane. Results showed that most of the studies were carried out between 2006 and 2011. The majority of them analyzed rural areas, and a third part consisted on analysis of national data. Thematically, they were focused on equality in the use of services, some vulnerable population groups, access to some specific services, as well as the implications of the law 100 of 1993 on access to health services. Results suggested that Colombian researchers need to improve their information sources, and that the theoretical frameworks must be adapted to the context. There is the need of more studies that address in a more comprehensive way all aspects involved in access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To assess the prevalence and the factors associated with positive screening for major depressive episode (MDE) in former slave communities in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Methods. In this population-based, cross-sectional study, 764 participants were randomly selected from five former slave communities in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. Depression was defined as a cutoff score of 10 or more points and the presence of five or more symptoms according to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Poisson regression was used to assess prevalence ratios (PR), with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results. Screening for MDE was positive in 12% of participants (95%CI: 10-14%), but only 2.3% reported a previous diagnosis. Depression was associated with self-reported poor or very poor health status (PR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.04-1.26), chronic disease (PR = 1.08; 95%CI: 1.04-1.13), no physical activity (PR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.01-1.11), and reasonable (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.01-1.13) or poor access to health services (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.02-1.12). Conclusions. The prevalence of MDE in this population was similar to that of the general Brazilian population. The association between MDE and poor access to health services indicates a missed opportunity for early diagnosis. Public measures against social and health inequalities are necessary to ensure equity in these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cadernos de Saude Publica is the property of Escola Nacional de Saude Publica Sergio Arouca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To characterize pediatric hospital care processes in institutions where children are hospitalized with a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Method: qualitative study of seven public and private institutions in the metropolitan area of Medellin. An interview was conducted with thirty health professionals from pediatric services and ten mothers of children with readmissions of CAP. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to the Grounded Theory (gt).Findings: There are two types of recruitment: a) direct and stable with the institution, including social security, b) contracting by third parties, short term and without social security. There is a shortfall in pediatricians and nurse practitioners on night shifts, holidays and weekends, few institutions have staff training programs. There are clinical and administrative processes defined for the admission, hospital care and discharge, it is difficult to access third level services because of the small number of available beds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the review, access to oral health services is an important criterion of equity in health. The political, social, economic and sanitary reasons to access to oral health services indicated that this is a current topic relevant to dental public health. The economic barriers to access to health services have become the main obstacle to the use of oral health services for the population. The evidence indicates that the insurance does not guarantee effective access to services. The information is obtained in various databases such as Medline, Proquest, Science Direct, Ovid, Lilacs and Cochrane, as well as on websites of national magazines and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]