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Assessing evidence of inequalities in access to medication for diabetic populations in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
- Source :
- Global Health Action, Vol 9, Iss 0, Pp 1-15 (2016), Global Health Action; Vol 9 (2016): incl Supplements, Global Health Action, Europe PubMed Central
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Background : Inequalities in access to medications among people diagnosed with diabetes inlow- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a public health concern since untreated diabetes can lead to severe complications and premature death. Objective : To assess evidence of inequalities in access to medication for diabetes in adult populations of people with diagnosed diabetes in LMICs. Design : We conducted a systematic review of the literature using the PRISMA-Equity guidelines. A search of five databases – PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EMBASE – was conducted from inception to November 2015. Using deductive content analysis, information extracted from the selected articles was analysed according to the PRISMA-Equity guidelines, based on exposure variables (place of residence, race/ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socio-economic status, social capital, and others). Results : Fifteen articles (seven quantitative and eight qualitative studies) are included in this review. There were inconsistent findings between studies conducted in different countries and regions although financial and geographic barriers generally contributed to inequalities in access to diabetes medications. The poor, those with relatively low education, and people living in remote areas had less access to diabetes medications. Furthermore, we found that the level of government political commitment through primary health care and in the provision of essential medicines was an important factor in promoting access to medications. Conclusions : The review indicates that inequalities exist in accessing medication among diabetic populations, although this was not evident in all LMICs. Further research is needed to assess the social determinants of health and medication access for people with diabetes in LMICs. Keywords: access to medication; diabetes; inequalities; low- and middle-income countries; progress (Published: 8 December 2016) Citation: Glob Health Action 2016, 9 : 32505 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.32505 To access the supplementary material for this article, please see Supplementary files under ‘Article Tools’
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
030231 tropical medicine
Ethnic group
access to medication
diabetes
inequalities
low- and middle-income countries
progress
Review Article
CINAHL
PsycINFO
Essential medicines
Public Health
Global Health
Health System
Population Health
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
Social determinants of health
Socioeconomics
business.industry
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
Health Policy
Public health
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
lcsh:RA1-1270
Family medicine
Residence
business
Qualitative research
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 16549880 and 16549716
- Volume :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Global Health Action
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....9f747386c666bf0707bb39b2279acd0d