title: Chronic non-communicable disease and healthcare access in middle-aged and older women living in Soweto, South Africa.
abstract: The aim of the current study was to describe the healthcare access, beliefs, and practices of middle-aged and older women residing in Soweto. This is a cross-sectional study of the primary (female) caregivers of the Birth to Twenty Cohort, based in Soweto, South Africa. The study instrument was administered to 1 102 caregivers as part of routine annual data collection. Over half the respondents (50.7%) reported having at least one chronic non-communicable disease (CND), only a small portion (33.3%) of whom reported accessing a healthcare service in the last 6 months. Reported availability of private medical practice and government clinics was high (75.1% and 61.5% respectively). The low utilisation of healthcare services by women with CND is a concern in terms of healthcare management. There is a need to further investigate how healthcare beliefs are formed, as well as the feasibility of programmes to support the ongoing management of CND in Soweto.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lopes Ibanez-Gonzalez
authors.forename: Shane A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Norris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology