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.