HIV patient access to healthcare services in post-austerity era in Greece
International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
ISSN: 2056-4902
Article publication date: 21 June 2021
Issue publication date: 23 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The ten-year economic crisis and the ensuing fiscal adjustment that Greece experienced between 2009 and 2018 has had a major impact on patient access to health-care services and resulted in an increase in unmet population health needs. The present study aims to assess the impact of economic crisis and ensuing austerity on HIV patient access to health-care services.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was carried out between February and April 2019 to assess barriers in access to HIV care faced by people living with HIV. A total of 329 HIV positive individuals participated in the study. An online, self-reporting questionnaire was developed and adapted to the specific clinical and societal characteristics of HIV.
Findings
A total of 94.2% of respondents were male and 67.80% lived in Athens. Most of them were diagnosed with HIV-1 10 years ago. Out of the total respondents, 37.40% reported obstacles in accessing HIV care over the past year. A total of 24.30% reported they were not tested for viral load in the past six months and received a result. Individuals, who self-evaluate their financial status as very bad or bad, were more likely to be unaware of their viral load (55.60%) than those with better financial status (33.5%) (P < 0.01). Only 33.3% of uninsured participants were aware of their viral load, and this figure rose to 63.30% (P <0.01) amongst insured participants.
Originality/value
The ten-year economic crisis that Greece experienced in the period 2009–2018 had significant effects on the quality of services of the National Health System. This study attempts to fill the research gap regarding the impact of one of the severest economic crises during the past century with complex social extensions, in one of the most vulnerable patient groups. In this context, the study assesses barriers to access to optimal care of people living with HIV in Greece after a decade of austerity and the variables that impact on such access.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interest with any financial and non-financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.Authors' contributions: The authors contributed to all phases of this study.Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Positive Voice and was in line with the ethical standards set by the Declaration of Helsinki. Participation was voluntary, anonymized and informed consent for participation was requested and obtained from all participants.Availability of data and materials: The data sets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Funding: The authors declare that they conducted the study without funding.
Citation
Tsiakalakis, G., Golna, C., Dedes, N., Papageorgiou, G., Athanasakis, K. and Souliotis, K. (2021), "HIV patient access to healthcare services in post-austerity era in Greece", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 403-410. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-10-2020-0092
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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