[Prinicipal health services accessibility risks in the European Union countries]

Sante Publique. 2000 Dec;12(4):513-27.
[Article in French]

Abstract

In 1998, MDM, the well-known french NGO advocating for the deprived people social rights, was supported by European funds to compare inegalities in health facilities accessibility in several countries. The NGO objective was to denounciate social exclusions and find arguments to set a partnership between relevant institutions. Social oriented professionals and social scientists were interviewed in eleven European cities. A joint committee including humanitarian deleguees and universitarian researchers gave the guidelines and analysed the results. Facing diversity in health facilities access determinants, a common analytic framework has been proposed to the different European partners. This tool did not benefit from a great success given the amount of work to perform identification and data collecting for a proper use. As it is usual in comparative studies, data collecting process has to fit into the observer's interests scale. Most of the time, humanitarian NGOs know little about phasing, -in, flow and customers distribution? Available informations are no more relevant when the focus changes. In spite of health facilities access impediments and simulation in European health systems confluency, it is hard nowadays to give so refine a design of custudory principles.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Altruism
  • Consumer Organizations
  • Europe
  • European Union
  • Guidelines as Topic*
  • Health Services Accessibility / economics
  • Health Services Accessibility / standards*
  • Humans
  • International Cooperation*
  • Interviews as Topic
  • National Health Programs / economics
  • National Health Programs / standards*
  • Patient Advocacy*
  • Risk Factors
  • Social Justice
  • Socioeconomic Factors