Access to healthcare for deaf people: a model from a middle-income country in Latin America



Document title: Access to healthcare for deaf people: a model from a middle-income country in Latin America
Journal: Revista de saude publica
Database:
System number: 000535892
ISSN: 0034-8910
Authors: 1
2
Institutions: 1Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Facultad de Medicina, Santiago, Santiago de Chile. Chile
2Université de Montréal, Faculté de médecine, Montréal, Quebec. Canadá
3l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Centre de recherche, Montréal, Québec. Canadá
Year:
Volumen: 54
Country: Brasil
Language: Inglés
English abstract OBJECTIVE To determine if there are existing healthcare access inequities among the deaf Chilean population when compared to the general Chilean population. METHODS Data were obtained from a population-based national survey in Chile. In total, 745 prelingually deaf individuals were identified. The number of times the person used the healthcare system was dichotomized and analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS Prelingually deaf people had lower incomes, fewer years of education, and greater rates of unemployment and poverty when compared with the general population. Moreover, they visited more general practitioners, mental health specialists, and other medical specialists. On average, they attended more appointments for depression but had fewer general checkups and gynecological appointments than the general population. CONCLUSIONS Deaf people in Chile have a lower socioeconomic status than the rest of the Chilean population. The results from this study are similar to the findings reported for high-income countries, despite differences in the magnitude of the associations between being deaf and healthcare access. Further studies should be conducted to determine the health status of deaf people in Chile and other Latin American countries and what factors are associated with a significantly lower prevalence of gynecological appointments among deaf women when compared with non-deaf women.
Keyword: Persons with Hearing Impairments,
Effective Access to Health Services,
Socioeconomic Factors,
Health Status Disparities
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