Decision-making regarding accessing paediatric unscheduled healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods rapid review and thematic synthesis.

Objective: Reductions in paediatric unscheduled healthcare utilisation were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, with concerns around their impact on children's health. The reasons for these changes are not well described. This review aims to explore the factors reported by parents that influenced their decision-making around accessing paediatric unscheduled healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO European framework for action to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities 2022-2030.

There are approximately 135 million persons with disabilities in the WHO European Region. In order to address health inequities experienced by this population, Member States and WHO/Europe developed the 'WHO European framework for action to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities 2022-2030', in close cooperation with organisations of persons with disabilities. The Framework, with its accompanying Resolution, was adopted by all 53 Member States in September 2022.

Maternal Health in Crisis: A Scoping Review of Barriers and Facilitators to Safe Abortion Care in Humanitarian Crises.

During humanitarian crises, women are particularly vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy. Unsafe abortion is among the five leading causes of maternal mortality and it is the only one which is entirely preventable. This study aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to the provision of safe abortion care by humanitarian organisations.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Participation in Cancer Screening in Argentina: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Low socioeconomic status is associated with late cancer diagnosis and mortality in Argentina. It is important that cancer screening services are accessible to the whole population so that cancer can be detected early. Our aim in this study was to investigate socioeconomic determinants for the disparities in the use of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening services in Argentina, and to measure the country progress in reducing differences in cancer screening participation across socioeconomic levels.

Examining the role of governmsent in shaping disability inclusiveness around COVID-19: a framework analysis of Australian guidelines.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the ways in which disabled people are made more vulnerable due to structural inequalities. These vulnerabilities are the result of the interaction between individual and structural factors that shape how risk is experienced by disabled people. In Australia, these vulnerabilities are influenced by the way disability services and care for disabled people are delivered through a consumer-directed approach.

The effectiveness of primary health care reforms in Greece towards achieving universal health coverage: a scoping review.

Introduction: Between 2010 and 2018, Greece implemented an Economic Adjustment Programme and underwent a series of extensive reforms, including in the health sector. We conducted a scoping review to examine whether the Primary Health Care reforms during that period assisted the country in moving towards Universal Health Coverage.

Methods: We performed a review of the literature on the following databases: Scopus, PubMed, Epistemonikos, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, including published research articles and grey literature.

Disability inclusiveness of government responses to COVID-19 in South America: a framework analysis study.

Background: Disabled people are particularly exposed to the risks of COVID-19, as well as to the measures taken to address it, and their impact. The aim of the study was to examine the disability-inclusiveness of government responses to COVID-19 in four South American Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru.

Methods: We conducted documentary research, using framework analysis to analyse reports, legislation, decrees, and other official documents that communicated measures taken in response to the pandemic, published from February 1st until May 22nd, 2020.

Barriers to Accessing Maternal Care in Low Income Countries in Africa: A Systematic Review.

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to 2030 aim to reduce maternal mortality and provide equitable access to maternal healthcare. Compromised access to maternal health facilities in low-income countries, and specifically in Africa, contribute to the increased prevalence of maternal mortality. We conducted a systematic review to investigate access barriers to maternal health in low-income countries in Africa since 2015, from the perspective of both community members and health providers.

Socioeconomic determinants of cancer screening utilisation in Latin America: A systematic review.

Introduction: Cancer incidence and mortality in Latin America are rising. While effective cancer screening services, accessible to the whole population and enabling early cancer detection are needed, existing research shows the existence of disparities in screening uptake in the region.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review to investigate the socioeconomic determinants for the disparities in the use of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening services in Latin America.

Barriers to, and facilitators of, access to cancer services and experiences of cancer care for adults with a physical disability: A mixed methods systematic review.

Background: Cancer services need to be inclusive and accessible to everybody, including people with disabilities. However, there is evidence suggesting that people with disabilities experience poorer access to cancer services, compared to people without disabilities.

Objectives: To investigate the barriers and facilitators of access to cancer services for people with physical disabilities and their experiences of cancer care.

Barriers to accessing cancer services for adults with physical disabilities in England and Wales: an interview-based study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the barriers to accessing cancer services faced by adults with pre-existing physical disabilities.

Design: Cross-sectional, exploratory qualitative study. Data were collected by semistructured interviews and analysed thematically.

Utilisation of mammography by women with mobility impairment in the UK: secondary analysis of cross-sectional data.

Objectives: Research has shown that people with physical impairment report lower utilisation of preventive services. The aim of this study was to examine whether women with mobility impairments have lower odds of using mammography compared with women with no such impairment, and explore the factors that are associated with lower utilisation.

Sample And Design: We performed secondary analysis, using logistic regressions, of deidentified cross-sectional data from the European Health Interview Survey, Wave 2.

Neurodegeneration and the Intersubjectivities of Care.

Caring for a family member or friend with a serious health condition is a common feature of social life. Often, such care is framed as a burden, an unwelcome rupture in the fabric of everyday life. We draw on research conducted in Australia and the UK to examine care in the everyday lives of people living with and caring for neurodegenerative diseases and to trouble care as a burden.

Determinants of utilisation rates of preventive health services: evidence from Chile.

Background: Preventive health services play a vital role in population health. However, access to such services is not always equitably distributed. In this article, we examine the barriers affecting utilisation rates of preventive health services, using Chile as a case study.

Depressive symptoms in people with disabilities; secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the United Kingdom and Greece.

Background: Evidence suggests there is an association between depressive symptoms and disability.

Objective/hypothesis: The objective of this study was to examine whether people with disabilities in the United Kingdom and Greece face more depressive symptoms than people without disabilities. The hypothesis was that people with disabilities in both countries are more likely to experience depressive symptoms.

The effects of neoliberal policies on access to healthcare for people with disabilities.

Neoliberal reforms lead to deep changes in healthcare systems around the world, on account of their emphasis on free market rather than the right to health. People with disabilities can be particularly disadvantaged by such reforms, due to their increased healthcare needs and lower socioeconomic status. In this article, we analyse the impacts of neoliberal reforms on access to healthcare for disabled people.

Healthcare access for refugee women with limited literacy: layers of disadvantage.

Background: Record numbers of people, across the world, are forced to be displaced because of conflict or other violations of their human rights, thus becoming refugees. Often, refugees not only have a higher burden of disease but also compromised access to healthcare, as they face many barriers, such as limited knowledge of the local language. However, there is very limited knowledge on the lived experiences of this population.

Access to healthcare for men and women with disabilities in the UK: secondary analysis of cross-sectional data.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in access to healthcare between people with and without disabilities in the UK. The hypotheses were that: (1) people with disabilities would be more likely to have unmet healthcare needs and (2) there would be gender differences, with women more likely to report unmet needs.

Setting And Participants: We performed secondary analysis, using logistic regressions, of deidentified cross-sectional data from the European Health Interview Survey, Wave 2.

Utilisation of cancer screening services by disabled women in Chile.

Background: Research has shown that women with disabilities face additional challenges in accessing and using healthcare services compared to non-disabled women. However, relatively little is known about the utilisation of cancer screening services for women with disabilities. This study addresses this gap by examining the utilisation of the Papanicolaou test and mammography for disabled women in Chile.

Neoliberal reforms in health systems and the construction of long-lasting inequalities in health care: A case study from Chile.

The aim of this article is to discuss how neoliberal policies implemented in the Chilean health system during the Pinochet regime have a lingering effect on equal access to health care today. The two-tier health system - public and private - that was introduced in the early 1980s as a means to improve efficiency and lower health-related costs, has led instead to inequality of access and dehumanisation of health care. Health has changed from being a right to being a marketable need, thus creating a structural disadvantage for several parts of the population - particularly the poor, the elderly, and women - who cannot afford the better-quality services and timely attention of private health providers, and thus, are not adequately protected against health risks.

Heteronormativity and prostate cancer: A discursive paper.

Aims And Objectives: To discuss the risks that heteronormative assumptions play in prostate cancer care and how these may be addressed.

Background: There is international evidence to support the case that LGBT patients with cancer are less likely to report poor health or self-disclose sexual orientation. Gender-specific cancers, such as prostate cancer, require particular interventions in terms of supportive care.

Enacting Varieties of Subjectivity Through Practices of Care: A Story of Living With Motor Neuron Disease.

People living with disability or chronic illness often use practices of care to construct a version of life they are satisfied with. Drawing from a narrative-based study with people living with motor neuron disease (MND), I show how one couple tried to be recognized as active agents in their life, although oscillating between positions of less and more power. Through an examination of the practices of care that the couple enacted, I illustrate how their positioning in relation to practices of care helped them create meaning in their life.

Why Has So Little Progress Been Made in the Practice of Occupational Therapy in Relation to Sexuality?

Despite recognition of the rights of disabled people to sexuality, occupational therapists continue to not address sexuality in practice. This failure can be understood as a consequence of social discourses relating to sexuality and disability and a professional discourse that values certain occupations over others. Given the importance of sexuality to the human experience and the evidence of the link between the opportunity for sexual expression and well-being, occupational therapists need to change their practice in relation to sexuality and disability.