Experiences and Perceptions of Barriers to Health Services for Elderly in Rural Namibia

Gert Van Rooy, Pempelani Mufune and Elina Amadhila

SAGE Open, 2015, vol. 5, issue 3, 2158244015596049

Abstract: We investigate barriers to accessing health facilities (e.g., transportation and cost of services) and health service delivery barriers (e.g., timeliness of services scheduling of appointments, language) that the literature suggest are operative. Semistructured interviews were utilized with respondents in three purposefully selected regional research sites in Namibia. All questions were translated into local languages. It is found that although many senior citizens appreciate the use of modern health care and are exempted from paying health care consultation fees, they still prefer to use traditional health medicine because of the long distance to health care facilities, which when they decide to travel translates into high transportation costs. Referrals to hospitals become very expensive. There is a need to consider the unique issues (extended family system) affecting access to health care for elderly people in Namibia to achieve equitable access to health care services.

Keywords: elderly; barriers to health access; rural Namibia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:5:y:2015:i:3:p:2158244015596049

DOI: 10.1177/2158244015596049

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