Premium
Access to Health Care
Author(s) -
Gulzar Laila
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1999.tb00414.x
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , health care , data access , nursing , psychology , public relations , knowledge management , business , medicine , political science , computer science , law , programming language
Purpose: To describe and analyze conceptual and operational definitions of health care access for future nursing theory, practice, and policy. Access to health care is a major health policy concern. However, the elements of access to care are not well understood. As a result, how access is addressed is often inconsistent and unclear. Organizing construct: Walker and Avant's framework for concept analysis. Sources: Published literature in nursing and health services from the 1960s to the 1990s. The analysis was done in 1997 for this integrative review of nursing and nonnursing literature. Methods: Integrative literature review in 1997. Findings: Access is a complex idea defined in many ways. One of the most comprehensive definitions of access is by the World Health Organization (WHO). Multidementional barriers and facilitators to access vary by community and country. Conclusions: Societies may define access differently at different stages of development. Scales to measure some dimensions of access are available; however, newer and better measures are needed and are being developed and tested. Data on each of the dimensions are needed for comprehensive assessment of access to health care in all countries at all stages of development.