Bangladesh is identified as one of the poorest countries with disparities in access to healthcare services, especially in rural areas. In this country, elderly women tend to be more acutely and chronically ill than other populations, and in more need of treatment, yet they have less access to healthcare services. This population group is experiencing socioeconomic and cultural discrimination at an individual level and institutional level within the rural context of Bangladesh. Selected primary and secondary sources of literature were explored to identify factors impacting on elderly women's access to healthcare. This overview identified complex interrelated access issues, emerging from the prevailing socio-economic and cultural conditions, across the lifespan. The following factors were identified: early childhood deprivation of adequate food and education; teenage pregnancy; social and economic dependency on males and family; inadequate and ineffectual institutional healthcare arrangements, and the misappropriation of funds. In combination these factors highlight the issue of access to healthcare by elderly women. These findings have implications for the planning and financing of healthcare services for this cohort at the individual and institutional levels in rural Bangladesh. The political, social and economic implications of these findings require significant changes in the private and public domains to improve the health and wellbeing of elderly women in rural areas.
BT - Indian Journal of Gerontology IS - 2 J2 - Indian J Geron LA - eng N2 -Bangladesh is identified as one of the poorest countries with disparities in access to healthcare services, especially in rural areas. In this country, elderly women tend to be more acutely and chronically ill than other populations, and in more need of treatment, yet they have less access to healthcare services. This population group is experiencing socioeconomic and cultural discrimination at an individual level and institutional level within the rural context of Bangladesh. Selected primary and secondary sources of literature were explored to identify factors impacting on elderly women's access to healthcare. This overview identified complex interrelated access issues, emerging from the prevailing socio-economic and cultural conditions, across the lifespan. The following factors were identified: early childhood deprivation of adequate food and education; teenage pregnancy; social and economic dependency on males and family; inadequate and ineffectual institutional healthcare arrangements, and the misappropriation of funds. In combination these factors highlight the issue of access to healthcare by elderly women. These findings have implications for the planning and financing of healthcare services for this cohort at the individual and institutional levels in rural Bangladesh. The political, social and economic implications of these findings require significant changes in the private and public domains to improve the health and wellbeing of elderly women in rural areas.
PY - 2016 SP - 235 EP - 60 T2 - Indian Journal of Gerontology TI - Factors impacting on elderly women's access to healthcare in rural Bangladesh. VL - 30 ER -