A qualitative study on access to health care
services for HIV/AIDS and diabetic patients in Cambodia
According
to the latest WHO data published in April 2011 Diabetes Mellitus Deaths in
Cambodia reached 3,122 or 3.01% of total deaths in 2010.In the same year Deaths
related to HIV/AIDS in Cambodia reached
3,029 or 2.92% of total deaths. Diabetes Mellitus & HIV/AIDS rank No. 6 and
10 respectively of the top ten causes of Deaths within the country. Both
diabetes and HIV/AIDS patients are suffering multiple, serious barriers to
effective care. However, according the article published recently in Health,
Culture and Society, it is found that the existence of supply-side barriers
limit the access to free treatment or social assistance for the diabetes
patients compare to HIV/AIDS. Below here is the abstract of the article.
Abstract
Financially
stricken Cambodian patients with diabetes and HIV/AIDS typically encounter
multiple, serious barriers to effective care. This process may extend over many
years and involve numerous rounds of diagnosis and treatment as the disease
progresses from initial symptoms to longer term complications. Living with both
the impact of the disease and this ongoing struggle for care can severely
disrupt the everyday life of both sufferers and their families.
Our
retrospective study adopted qualitative research methods to collect data from
HIV/AIDS and diabetic patients enrolled and not enrolled in treatment programs
at varying institutions in urban and rural settings. Using purposive sampling
techniques, a total of 25 HIV/AIDS and 45 diabetic patients were recruited.
Semi-structured and open-ended interviews were used to collect information on
patient experiences of different phases in the on-going process of seeking care
and treatment. The findings indicate that both HIV/AIDS and diabetic patients
encounter multiple supply- and demand-side barriers to care at different stages
of their illness. More strikingly, our research findings suggest that
supply-side barriers, for example rationing systems or targeting strategies
that limit access to free treatment or social assistance, are substantially
higher for diabetic patients. This perceived inequity had a profound impact on
diabetic patients to the extent that some “wished they had HIV/AIDS”.
These
findings suggest that there is an urgent need to widen the focus of health care
to address the substantial and increasing burden of disease resulting from
diabetes and other serious chronic disorders in Cambodia and many other
low/middle income countries.
Reference:
C Men,
B Meessen, M van Pelt, W Van Damme, H Lucas
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