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Beyond access: extending our thinking on health policy
1Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, University of South Alabama, 221 Humanities Building, Mobile, AL 36688, USA. tshaw@usouthal.edu
Social Work in Public Health
|September 12, 2012
Summary
Expanding healthcare access is crucial, but policy must also address post-access challenges. Simply increasing availability doesn't guarantee utilization or improved health outcomes for all individuals.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Health Policy Analysis
Background:
- Expanding healthcare access is frequently viewed as a solution to health problems.
- However, increased access does not automatically ensure health outcome improvements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine post-access issues in health policy.
- To address the "if you build it, they will come" fallacy.
- To update the Anderson/Aday model of healthcare access.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of health policy.
- Review of post-access barriers.
- Theoretical model refinement.
Main Results:
- Identified various types of post-access issues.
- Highlighted the "if you build it, they will come" fallacy in health policy.
- Proposed an updated Anderson/Aday model to incorporate post-access considerations.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare access is necessary but insufficient for improved health outcomes.
- Policy analysis must integrate post-access factors.
- An updated theoretical model is needed to understand health access comprehensively.