Equity in Access to Palliative Healthcare Services Analysis

This essay examines the core value of equity in the accessibility of healthcare services, particularly within palliative care. It emphasizes the importance of equal access to healthcare facilities and services for all individuals, irrespective of their socioeconomic status, location, or resources. The essay highlights the disparities in access to palliative care, citing reports that indicate a significant number of deaths occur annually due to limited access to these services, and that even where services exist, they are not always equitably distributed. The discussion covers the objectives of palliative care, the inequities observed, and the attributes of healthcare professionals. The analysis includes research findings on equity, accessibility, and the impact of various factors such as age, ethnicity, and gender on access to services. The essay references several studies and reports to support its arguments, including the need for redefining health systems and medicines to address marginalized palliative care, and the development of policies and strategic plans to improve access to palliative care. The conclusion underscores the necessity of equity in palliative care for human well-being and suggests that unequal access to services has detrimental effects on individuals.

Equity in the accessibility of Healthcare services
Author (name) and student ID
Equity in the access of healthcare services- the core value
The Standards for the Provision of palliative Care is based on core values, assumptions
and beliefs. The chosen core value is promotion of equity to patients and their
caregivers for accessing health care and palliative services. This is one of the main aim
of palliative care so that people can access the service fully and can lead a better life.
Introduction
• Equity in palliative care is one of the main core value laid down by the
standards for the provision of palliative care. There is a necessity to access
healthcare services and their facilities by every patients. Reports suggested
that more than 50 million of people die each year due to limited access to
palliative care services.
• Those places where palliative care exists, this service is not equally accessible
to the population who actually needs them. Promoting equity in palliative
care ensures all people to receive high quality palliative care irrespective of
which place they are living, what resources they are having and who they are.
This equity in access to health care services will facilitate people to lead a
satisfactory life.
• .
Discussion
• The equity in access to health care in the main objective of palliative care
services. This means that each and every individual should have equal access
to health care facilities and care services. Inequities has been observed
between socio economic groups. This inequity of access is mainly observed in
mental health services, acute hospital care, general practitioner consultations,
health promotion and preventative medicines. National health services is
based on the principle of equitable provision of palliative care among patient.
Aged people need more care and attention and an equal access to this
facilities and care is essential for their betterment.
• The professional attributes towards equity in the accessibility of palliative care
services is to extend the generalist care and specialist care services. Nurse
practitioners and primary care staff should be efficient in delivering palliative
care. The care should be given irrespective of resource availability.
Conclusion
From the above mentioned research evidences the conclusion that can be deduced is
that equity in palliative care is the most important among other core values. Equity in
the access to health care services and facilities is necessary for human wellbeing.
Unequal access to services is detrimental to people.
References:
Burt, J., 2012. Back to basics: researching equity in palliative care.
DOI-http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0269216311431370
Dixon, J., 2015. Thousands are missing out on palliative care because of unfair provision.
Health and Social Care at LSE. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/61552/1/Health%20and%20Social
%20Care%20%E2%80%93%20Thousands%20are%20missing%20out%20on%20palliative
%20care%20because%20of%20unfair%20provision.pdf
Knaul, F.M., Farmer, P.E., Bhadelia, A., Berman, P. and Horton, R., 2015. Closing the divide: the
Harvard Global Equity Initiative–Lancet Commission on global access to pain control and
palliative care.
The Lancet, 386(9995), pp.722-724. DOI- https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-
6736(15)60289-6
Krakauer, E.L., Muhimpundu, M.A., Mukasahaha, D., Tayari, J.C., Ntizimira, C., Uhagaze, B.,
Mugwaneza, T., Ruzima, A., Mpanumusingo, E., Gasana, M. and Karamuka, V., 2017.
TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Palliative Care in Rwanda: Aiming for Universal Access.
Journal of pain
and symptom management DOI- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.03.037
Lancet, T. 2015, A call for equity in the delivery of UK palliative care Vol.385(9977), pp.1478-
1478 DOI-https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60736-X
Reimer-Kirkham, S., Stajduhar, K., Pauly, B., Giesbrecht, M., Mollison, A., McNeil, R. and
Wallace, B., 2016. Death is a social justice issue: perspectives on equity-informed palliative
care.
Advances in Nursing Science, 39(4), pp.293-307. DOI- doi:
10.1097/ANS.0000000000000146
Sutherland, N., Ward-Griffin, C., McWilliam, C. and Stajduhar, K., 2016. Gendered processes in
hospice palliative home care for seniors with cancer and their family caregivers.
Qualitative
health research, 26(7), pp.907-920.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1049732315609571
Analysis and evaluation
• On researching the equity of palliative care, this service has been regarded as an international human right. People should have
equal access to all services and they should not been discriminated. Findings suggested that accessibility and use of health care is
distinct. Accessibility is the availability of suitable healthcare and the use of healthcare depends on any issues like affordability,
acceptability and physical accessibility of services (Burt, 2012).
• Report in
equity provision of palliative care in UK suggested that delivering palliative care requires special primary health care
services. Some substantial inequalities were detailed in this report across UK. This report highlighted the changing process of
palliative care towards those people who receives cancer care therapy(Lancet, 2015) .
• This article suggested that fundamental to healthcare is the equal right in accessing palliative care. The absence of this care lessens
the effort to improve the wellbeing of human. The remedy to the marginalized palliative care involves the redefining of health
systems and medicines (Knaul
et al, 2015).
• In the year 2011, Rawanda’s Ministry of health proposed a goal to global access to palliative care within 2020. The ministry of
health develop policies, strategic plans for palliative care, initiation of palliative care training programs and supply of adequate
opoid in country(Krakauer
et al, 2017)
• Services of palliative care are not responsive to doubly vulnerable people. Research has been conducted that argued for the
reorientation of palliative care services and equity in accessing the service among people who experienced structural
vulnerabilities(Reimer-Kirkham
et al, 2016).
• Investigations was done to identify gender inequities in providing palliative care. Researchers used a critical feminist lens and
conducted interviews with patient who are suffering from terminal cancer, primary nurses and caregivers of family. This gender
based research analyzed that this is advantageous as well as disadvantageous to both male and female who are getting palliative
home care(Sutherland
et al, 2016).
• Research evidences pointed out that a significant amount of minority people are not receiving proper palliative care as they need.
Researchers pointed out that aged people, Asian and black people, people in minority ethnic groups, those who lived in deprived
areas, having no spouse or partner are less likely to access community based services. . They pointed out a range of gap in services
that should be addressed (Dixon, 2015).
Findings
Authors Year Findings
Burt 2012 Identify barriers to palliative care like attitudinal
factors, confusion in responsibilities in delivering
palliative care and switching difficulty in curative
approach.
Lancet 2015 Findings suggested that palliative care for
cancer therapy is delivered poorly and the
availability of this care is less in aged people
who is older than 85 years age.
Knaul
et al 2015 The global divide in access to palliative care
services is detrimental to poor people.
Krakauer
et al 2017 The goal of universal access to palliative care
service and training home-based palliative care
practitioners appears to reach.
Reimer-Kirkham
et al 2016 This article articulate some theoretical,
philosophical and empirical scaffolding that are
required for achieving equity in palliative care.
Sutherland
et al 2016 This article suggested that there is a need to
promote equity and health care providers and
policy makers must join to gender as an
important determinant of healthcare.
Dixon 2015 Findings suggested that patients get limited
access to face-to-face services of palliative care.
There are insufficient capacity to provide
efficient end of life care.