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Articles

Factors affecting access to primary health care services in Pakistan: a gender-based analysis

Pages 813-827 | Received 03 Sep 2016, Accepted 03 May 2017, Published online: 10 Aug 2017
 

ABSTRACT

This article explores access to primary health care (PHC) services and associated factors in Pakistan. Data were collected from 302 respondents. The findings revealed that women accessed PHC services more than men due to their greater health needs. However, a large proportion of both genders did not access any PHC services. Besides general weaknesses, gender-related barriers were found in basic health unit locations, distance, transport, staff availability, income, service hours, and service organisation, confirming gender issues in access to PHC services. Policymakers are recommended to take measures to improve access to PHC services through the formulation of gender-responsive policies and strategies.

Cet article examine l'accès aux services de soins de santé primaires (SSSP) au Pakistan, et les facteurs qui lui sont associés. Les données proviennent des réponses de 302 personnes dans une enquête. Les résultats révèlent que les femmes accèdent à ces services plus fréquemment que les hommes en raison de leurs besoins de santé plus importants. Cependant, une forte proportion de personnes des deux sexes n'avait accès à aucun des SSSP. En-dehors des faiblesses générales du système, l'enquête a révélé l'existence d'obstacles liés au genre, relativement aux unités de soins de base, à la distance, au transport, à la disponibilité du personnel, aux revenus, aux horaires et à l'organisation des services, confirmant ainsi l'existence de problèmes liés au genre dans l'accès aux SSSP. Nous recommandons aux décideurs politiques d'adopter des mesures pour améliorer l'accès aux SSSP, fondées sur des politiques et des stratégies sensibles au genre.

El presente artículo examina el acceso a los servicios de atención primaria de salud (aps) en Pakistán, así como los factores que inciden en ello. Para recabar la información necesaria se encuestó a 302 personas. Los hallazgos indican que, debido a que las mujeres requieren mayores cuidados de salud que los hombres, son las que más buscan este tipo de servicios. A pesar de ello, se constata que un porcentaje significativo de ambos géneros no buscó acceder a ningún servicio de aps. Además de la debilidad general acusada por los servicios de aps, el estudio realizado constató la existencia de obstáculos vinculados al género; los mismos tienen que ver con la ubicación de las unidades de salud básica, la distancia, el transporte, la disponibilidad del personal, los ingresos, las horas de servicio y la organización del servicio, lo que confirma la existencia de cuestiones de género que obstaculizan el acceso a dichos servicios. En este sentido, se solicita a los diseñadores de políticas que tomen medidas destinadas a mejorar el acceso a los servicios de aps, formulando políticas y estrategias que respondan a la perspectiva de género.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sanaullah Panezai is a doctoral student at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, and Assistant Professor at the Department of Disaster Management and Development Studies, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan.

Mokbul Morshed Ahmad is Associate Professor, Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP), School of Environment Resources and Development (SERD), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.

Shahab E. Saqib is a doctoral student in Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP) at the School of Environment Resources and Development (SERD), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.

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