Souliotis Kyriakos, Golna Christina, Baka Agni, Ntokou Aikaterini, Zavras Dimitris
School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Peloponnese, 20100 Corinth, Greece.
Health Policy Institute, 15123 Marousi, Greece.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jul 30;13(15):1867. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13151867.
: Access to health services is often limited due to socio-economic and organizational determinants of health systems, which lead to increased unmet healthcare needs. This study aimed to identify access barriers for the general population in Greece, including those that may have emerged following the COVID-19 pandemic. : This was a cross-sectional survey of 1002 Greek citizens. A questionnaire regarding socio-demographics, healthcare utilization, and access to health services was used. Interviews took place between October and November 2022. : Of 837 participants who used health services in 2022, 82.6% had a medical consultation, 80.6% took diagnostic tests, and 63.6% visited a pharmacy for pharmaceuticals. Of those having a medical consultation, 33.1% did so at an NHS health unit, while 75% of the participants taking diagnostic tests visited a contracted private laboratory. Out of the 135 participants requiring hospitalization, 62% were hospitalized in a public hospital, while 85% of the participants requiring pharmaceuticals visited a private pharmacy. Access barriers in the past year were reported by 48% of the participants requiring a medical consultation, 34% of the participants requiring diagnostic tests, and 40% of the participants requiring hospitalization. The most common barriers were long waiting times and financial constraints. The main barrier to accessing pharmaceuticals was the availability and administration of the product. : The identified healthcare access barriers highlight the vulnerabilities of the current health system in Greece, which were further exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Addressing socioeconomic factors that are considered key access indicators should be the focus of future health policy initiatives.
由于卫生系统的社会经济和组织决定因素，获得卫生服务的机会往往有限，这导致未满足的医疗保健需求增加。本研究旨在确定希腊普通人群的就医障碍，包括在新冠疫情之后可能出现的障碍。：这是一项对1002名希腊公民的横断面调查。使用了一份关于社会人口统计学、医疗保健利用情况和获得卫生服务情况的问卷。访谈于2022年10月至11月进行。：在2022年使用卫生服务的837名参与者中，82.6%进行了医疗咨询，80.6%进行了诊断测试，63.6%去药店买药。在进行医疗咨询的人中，33.1%在国民健康服务（NHS）卫生单位进行，而进行诊断测试的参与者中有75%前往签约的私立实验室。在135名需要住院治疗的参与者中，62%在公立医院住院，而需要买药的参与者中有85%前往私立药店。48%需要医疗咨询的参与者、34%需要诊断测试的参与者和40%需要住院治疗的参与者报告了过去一年的就医障碍。最常见的障碍是等待时间长和经济限制。获取药品的主要障碍是产品的供应和管理。：所确定的医疗保健获取障碍凸显了希腊当前卫生系统的脆弱性，在新冠疫情危机期间这些脆弱性进一步暴露。解决被视为关键获取指标的社会经济因素应成为未来卫生政策举措的重点。
