Poverty increases the number of children in Portugal without access to health services

Families with children under 15 are less likely to use health services due to lack of money, according to a national survey that shows 15.63% of households did not seek care last year.

The work, carried out by two researchers from the Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), Pedro Pita Barros and Carolina Santos, raises alarm: poverty prevents many families from seeking counseling or emergency situations in a country where minors are exempt from paying taxes. subscription fee.

Last year, 15.63% of families with children and adolescents under 15 years of age did not turn to a medical professional despite illness, according to data from the work “Children’s Access to Medical Care,” which is part of the “Health” program. Industry Analysis Series,” which allows us to see the evolution of this phenomenon since 2013.

The study shows that the situation has worsened as households without access to health care accounted for 13.33% of the total last year.

The work also shows that over the past decade, more than 10% of respondents have always been in this situation, with 2015 and 2017 being the worst years, with more than one in four families not being seen by a health professional despite being patient. (20.48% and 23.48% respectively).

The researchers wanted to understand whether the decline could be attributed to less severe episodes of illness, but they found that children from needier families faced “higher financial barriers to access,” according to a briefing note accessed by Lusa.

Now, in a country where minors are exempt from paying National Health Service subscription fees, “challenges are likely to remain with other costs associated with accessing care,” the authors warn.

“Overall, the results show that the roots of children’s access to health care are rooted in child poverty,” they conclude, applauding social media affirmative action mechanisms but arguing that more needs to be done.

According to Nova SBE researchers, poverty needs to be tackled to mitigate barriers to access.

“The goal of providing adequate health care to the population cannot be achieved solely through health policy in the strict sense. It is necessary to (re)evaluate the implementation of comprehensive social protection policies, as they complement health policies,” they emphasize in the document. .

The study also compares households with children under 15 years of age with children over that age and clearly finds that families with young children suffer more and use the health care system less.

A common indicator between these two groups of households is the fact that both do not purchase all the necessary medicines.

Last year, about 18.37% of respondents from families with children under 15 years of age did not purchase all the medications needed to treat an episode of illness.

There were other factors that could potentially affect access to health care, such as not having a family doctor, but the researchers concluded that families with young children were no longer disadvantaged in the process.

“The shortage of family doctors has negatively impacted both types of households,” the document released on Monday said, showing that it is becoming increasingly difficult to have a family doctor.

Nearly nine thousand people took part in various surveys conducted by Nova SBE between 2013 and 2022, with respondents representing “a representative sample of the population living in Portugal,” according to the document to which Lusa had access.