Keywords
, Healthcare Access
Equity Gap
How to Cite
Abstract
The interplay between socioeconomic status and access to public healthcare is a complex and multifaceted concern that requires an interdisciplinary methodology. By integrating perspectives from economics, sociology, public health, and policy analysis, this paper aims to establish a holistic framework for examining the impact of Socioeconomic Status (SES) on healthcare accessibility and proposing specific policy measures that could effectively reduce disparities in healthcare. This study examines the influence of socioeconomic status on healthcare access, highlighting the exacerbation of social inequalities and economic disparities in social sciences, public health, and economics. It employs a mixed-method approach, including household survey data, medical records, case studies, and interviews, to examine the socio-economic features of children's acute illness care facilities (FHCs). Beneficiaries are those who access these services, and data is collected daily from those approaching FHCs for any services on the day of the researcher's visit. Results indicate that financial barriers, geographic isolation, and lack of health insurance are the main hurdles faced by lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups in accessing care. In addition to these inherent differences, structural factors such as lack of access to health infrastructure, as well as legal and administrative barriers, further compound the widening equity gap. The paper recommends policy measures aimed at improving health insurance, suggesting that access is a key driver of this shift in utilization patterns. Lower-SES populations face knowledge, financial, and geographic barriers, whereas higher-SES populations generally have more resources, greater awareness, and better access.
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