School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Health Sciences & Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Int J Equity Health. 2021 May 8;20(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01464-9.
Access to healthcare services has major implications for vulnerable populations' health. Socio-cultural and gender characteristics shape the utilization and access of healthcare services among ethnic minorities worldwide. One such vulnerable ethnic minority is the Arab Bedouin women in Israel. As women, they are marginalized in their community, where women do not have full equity and they experience multiple barriers to healthcare services The main objective of this study is to provide a nuanced, experiential, emic description of healthcare accessibility issues among Bedouin women in Israel. Identifying the barriers, they face in accessing healthcare may help healthcare policymakers make changes based on and tailored to Bedouin women's needs.
A qualitative study included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 Arab Bedouin village residents, consisting of 14 women and 7 men. Eligible participants were Arab Bedouins over 18 years of age and who used healthcare services at least once in the last 5 years. The interviews were carried out in Arabic-Bedouin dialect and included demographic questions, open-ended questions that asked about participants' perceptions regarding their experiences with healthcare services, including the factors that helped and hindered them in accessing these services and questions regarding suggestions for improving the accessibility of healthcare services based on the identified needs. Data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis. Study trustworthiness was ensured using audit, reflexivity, and peer debriefing.
Arab Bedouin women experienced varied barriers while accessing healthcare services. This study uncovered how language, cultural and gender barriers intersect with other disadvantages ingrained in social norms, values and beliefs and affect the access of a minority women subgroup to healthcare services. The participants identified subgroups of Bedouin women (e.g. elderly Bedouin women) affected differently by these barriers.
Taking into consideration the identified needs and the Arab Bedouin women's unique characteristics, along with adopting the intersectional approach should help improve access to healthcare services among such a vulnerable subgroup and other subgroups within minorities worldwide.
获得医疗保健服务对弱势群体的健康有重大影响。社会文化和性别特征塑造了世界各地少数民族对医疗保健服务的利用和获取。阿拉伯贝都因妇女就是以色列这样一个弱势少数民族群体。作为女性，她们在自己的社区中处于边缘化地位，在那里，女性没有完全的平等，她们在获得医疗保健服务方面面临多重障碍。本研究的主要目的是详细、经验性地描述以色列阿拉伯贝都因妇女获得医疗保健服务的问题。确定她们在获得医疗保健服务方面面临的障碍，可以帮助医疗保健政策制定者根据和针对贝都因妇女的需求进行变革。
一项定性研究包括对 21 名阿拉伯贝都因村庄居民进行深入的半结构化访谈，其中包括 14 名女性和 7 名男性。合格的参与者是年龄在 18 岁以上并在过去 5 年内至少使用过一次医疗保健服务的阿拉伯贝都因人。访谈以阿拉伯-贝都因方言进行，包括人口统计学问题、开放式问题，询问参与者对他们在医疗保健服务方面的体验的看法，包括帮助和阻碍他们获得这些服务的因素，以及根据确定的需求改善医疗保健服务可及性的建议。使用主题分析对收集的数据进行分析。通过审计、反思和同行咨询来确保研究的可信度。
阿拉伯贝都因妇女在获得医疗保健服务方面经历了不同的障碍。本研究揭示了语言、文化和性别障碍如何与社会规范、价值观和信仰中固有的其他劣势相互交织，影响少数妇女亚群获得医疗保健服务的机会。参与者确定了受这些障碍影响不同的贝都因妇女亚群（例如老年贝都因妇女）。
考虑到确定的需求和阿拉伯贝都因妇女的独特特征，以及采用交叉方法，应该有助于改善这样一个弱势群体以及世界其他少数民族中其他亚群获得医疗保健服务的机会。
