Poverty proofing healthcare: A qualitative study of barriers to accessing healthcare for low-income families with children in northern England.

Autor: Bidmead E; Institute of Health, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumbria, United Kingdom.; National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), North East and North Cumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom., Hayes L; National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Population Health Sciences Institute, RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom., Mazzoli-Smith L; School of Education, Durham University, Durham, County Durham, United Kingdom., Wildman J; National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), North East and North Cumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom.; Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom., Rankin J; National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), North East and North Cumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom.; Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom., Leggott E; Children North East, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom., Todd L; School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom., Bramhall L; Children North East, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Apr 26; Vol. 19 (4), pp. e0292983. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 26 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292983
Abstrakt: Poverty impacts negatively on children's health and future life chances. Access to the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is based on clinical need rather than the ability to pay but horizontal inequities in access exist. Children North East, a charity supporting children experiencing poverty, are working with partners to reduce the impacts of poverty on NHS access. This collaborative study aimed to understand barriers to healthcare access faced by families living on low incomes to validate and support further development of a Poverty Proofing© healthcare tool. Twenty-four parents and eight Voluntary Community Social Enterprise sector staff participated in qualitative interviews or focus groups. Data were analysed thematically, and three main themes were identified as impacting access to healthcare: hidden costs, securing appointments and developing relationships with healthcare providers. We conclude that low-income families experience both financial and other barriers to accessing NHS healthcare and that these barriers are exacerbated for low-income families living in remote/rural areas.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Bidmead et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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