From 'how many' to 'why': Health services utilization from the users' perspective [Del 'cuanto' al 'por que': La utilazacionde los servicios de salud desde la perspectiva de los usuarios]
Por:
Bronfman M., Castro R., Zúñiga E., Miranda C., Oviedo J.
Publicada:
1 ene 1997
Resumen:
Parallel to the National Health Survey-II, in 1994 a qualitative study was conducted on the patterns and microsocial determinants of health services utilization. The study was conducted in eight urban areas from all over the country among middle class and middle-low class sectors. A total of 192 individual open-ended interviews and eight focus groups were completed among users of health services; 61 service providers both from public and private services were also interviewed. This paper reports the main findings regarding the users' perspective. The first part sumarizes the conceptual and methodological design. The second part presents the results from the users' point of view. Individuals distinguish between 'becoming sick' and 'falling sick'; preventive measures are adopted when becoming sick, in order to avoid falling sick. Another finding refers to the population tendency to add up different and even contradictory curative paradigms, as opossed to the modern medical paradigm which tends to exclude any competing alternative knowledge. A third series of findings refers to the dilemmas that utilizing health services poses for the population, given the high costs, and the low quality that characterize these services, according to the users' point of view. This paper concludes with a series of recommendations for policies, aimed at improving the quality of the health services provided to the population.
Filiaciones:
Ctro. de Invest. en Sist. de Salud, Inst. Nac. de Salud Pública, Mexico
Ctro. de Invest. en Sist. de Salud, Inst. Nac. de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655, 62508 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Ctro. Reg. de Invest. M., Univ. Nac. Auton. de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Consejo Nacional de Población, Mexico
Sistema Nac. para el Desarrollo I., Mexico
Dir. General de Medicina Preventiva, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico
All Open Access, Gold
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