The Role of Perceived Unjust Treatment in Unmet Needs for Primary Care Among Finnish Roma Adults

Riikka Lämsä, Anu E. Castaneda, Anneli Weiste, Marianne Laalo, Päivikki Koponen and Hannamaria Kuusio
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Riikka Lämsä: Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Anu E. Castaneda: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 00271 Helsinki, Finland
Anneli Weiste: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 00271 Helsinki, Finland
Marianne Laalo: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 00271 Helsinki, Finland
Päivikki Koponen: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 00271 Helsinki, Finland
Hannamaria Kuusio: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 00271 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: The main goal in developing services is to guarantee equal access to healthcare services that are suited to the patients’ needs. Previous studies have shown that the Roma are more likely to experience unjust treatment in health services than the general population. This study examines the association between perceived unjust treatment in healthcare and self-assessed unmet need for primary care provided by general practitioners (GPs) and nurses among the Finnish Roma. The data from the Finnish Roma Wellbeing Study (Roosa), conducted in 2017–2018, were used. Snowball sampling was used in recruiting study participants ( n = 365, 61% women). Logistic regression was used to test the association between perceived unjust treatment and unmet need for primary care. Confounders used were gender, age, marital status, education, employment, and self-rated health. Those who had experienced unjust treatment in healthcare were more likely to report unmet need for care provided by GPs (odds ratios (OR) = 6.44; p < 0.001) and nurses (OR = 11.18; p < 0.001) than those who felt that they had been treated justly. This association remained after adjustments for the confounders. Bidirectional guidance between the Roma and service providers should be improved and the Roma communities involved in service development using participatory methods.

Keywords: unmet need; unjust treatment; healthcare services; minorities; Roma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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