Access to health care in an age of austerity: disabled people’s unmet needs in Greece

Abstract

Since late 2009, Greece has been dealing with the effects of a debt crisis. The neoliberal principles embedded in the three structural adjustment programmes that the country accepted have required radical cuts in health care funding, which in turn have led to widening inequalities in health. This article focuses on access to health care for people with disabilities in Greece in the context of these structural adjustments. We investigate possible differences in unmet health care needs between people with and without disabilities, using de-identified cross-sectional data from the European Health Interview Survey. The sample included 5400 communitydwelling men and women aged 15 years and over. The results of the logistic regressions showed that people with disabilities report higher unmet health care needs, with cost, transportation, and long waiting lists being significant barriers; experience of all barriers was positively associated with low socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that a section of the population who may have higher health care needs face greater barriers in accessing services. Austerity policies impact on access to health care in both direct and indirect ways, producing long-term disadvantage for disabled people. Social policies and comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation might help to address some of the barriers this population faces.

Health inequalities among migrant and native-born populations in Greece in times of crisis: the MIGHEAL study.

“…This appears to be the result of the ongoing crisis and the austerity policies pursued since 2010. 32 It is interesting to note that despite the significant fall in household incomes, private health expenditure has been increasing in the wake of continuous drastic public spending cuts in the health sector. Greece reports the highest rate of private spending on health services in the EU.…”

Income-related inequalities in unmet dental care needs in Spain: traces left by the Great Recession

“…Substantial empirical research has previously addressed socioeconomic determinants of access and use of dental care for adults [ 19 – 26 ] and, more specifically, of unmet dental care needs [ 10 , 11 , 27 – 36 ]. However, most studies focused on particularly vulnerable groups, such as the elderly [ 30 , 34 ], homeless [ 28 ], HIV/AIDS patients [ 27 ], low-income [ 29 ] or disabled adults [ 33 , 36 ]. Also, the effect of the Great Recession on unmet needs and its determinants has received little attention [ 11 , 32 , 36 ].…”

Educational Policy and Multiple Disabilities in Greece of the Crisis: A Case Study of Inequalities

“…On the other hand, KB has a medical biology approach to the concept of "normal" as a measure of analysis. The cuts of the welfare state on disabled people in the period of the economic crisis (Rotarou & Sakellariou, 2019), despite the fact that these are a social reality (ESAmeA, 2017), transfers the responsibility of dealing with people with multiple disabilities to their families and shapes concepts of disability. The medical model continues to be dominant in social practices.…”

“…Since 2009, Greece has been under economic surveillance due to the widespread economic crisis it has been facing. Austerity measures were implemented in Greece by three international institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB), through three memorandums, which based on the principles of neo-liberalism in deregulating and liberalizing labor markets and privatizations (Rotarou & Sakellariou, 2019).…”