Abstract
Although health inequality is a growing concern, striking differences in health and life expectancy still exist across and within OECD countries. In Oslo, the largest city of Norway, life expectancy differs with up to eight years between districts. Quality healthcare can help to reduce the social differences in health. However, research states that older people at the lower level of the social gradient have more difficulty in accessing health services. Today older persons experience early hospital discharge and several transitions between and across care levels. This patient care trajectory typically involves multiple health and social care actors. In this study, using Bourdieu’s theory of practice, we explore social inequality in access to public healthcare within care trajectories for older people in Oslo. Through observation of family meetings in intermediate care (N=14) and semi-structured interviews with older patients (N=15), relatives (N=12) and healthcare professionals (N=18), this study identifies 15 unique care trajectories from hospital to home via intermediate care from a critical realist perspective. Moving from west to east via the urban areas, there is a prominent finding of climbing down the social gradient and subsequent access to healthcare. Therefore, an overarching theme, ‘Navigating the healthcare maze’, was constructed to illuminate the study’s aim. ‘Individuality meets system’ implies a pattern where well-resourced patients and/or relatives have advantages in accessing proper care service, while ‘Having av feel for the game’, suggest that the ability in navigating the healthcare maze influence the prioritization of who receives attention and subsequent individualized healthcare.
Presenters
Linda KvælResearcher / Postdoctoral Fellow, Norwegian Social Research NOVA - Ageing Research and Housing Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social inequality, Care trajectories, Intermediate Care, Older people, Quality healthcare
