Accessibility and health care patterns of haemophiliac patients: analysis based on the case of Brittany
Access to health care is particularly important in the case of diseases which require rapid attention, such as hemophilia. Spatial, therapeutic and cognitive factors can also act as barriers or facilitators of access to health care services. Despite acceptable access times, a GIS-based time-distance analysis for Brittany shows that severe hemophiliac patients are more likely to live close to hospitals. Access times negatively impact on levels of satisfaction in patients unaccustomed to such trips. Interviews reveal that patients do not necessarily use the closest health care services to them but more readily base their choices on the perceived quality of the health care provided or their relationships with staff. Self-treatment can reduce the number of trips required for hospital services but may at the same time impose material constraints that hamper patients’ normal mobility, or oblige them to carry voluminous and expensive equipment with them.