Access to health care of persons with disabilities as an indicator of equity in health systems

Open Med. 2011;5(1):e10-2. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

Abstract

Health systems are often evaluated using indicators such as maternal mortality, which reflect the health status of the population and the effectiveness of health services. Addressing the right to health of persons with disabilities is a significant challenge for health systems because health services for this subgroup are interdependent on other sectors in society, such as education, employment and transportation. By considering health care access of persons with disabilities, it is possible to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the health system in terms of equity, accessibility and right to health.

MeSH terms

  • Disabled Persons / statistics & numerical data*
  • Health Services Accessibility*
  • Health Services Needs and Demand / statistics & numerical data*
  • Health Services Research
  • Health Status Disparities*
  • Humans
  • Ireland
  • Social Justice*
  • Socioeconomic Factors