Socio-Demographic Correlates of Barriers to Access Healthcare Services among Children in Post-Communist Albania

Access to healthcare services is an essential component of promoting public health and sustainable development. Our aim was to assess socio-demographic correlates of barriers to accessing healthcare services among children in Albania, a post-communist country in Europe. An online survey was conducted in September 2022, including a nationwide representative sample of 7831 school children (approximate to 54% girls) ranging from grades six to nine from all regions of Albania. A structured and anonymous questionnaire was administered to all children inquiring about a range of potential barriers to accessing healthcare services. Overall, about 42% of the children reported that they had barriers to accessing healthcare services. There were no gender differences, but there were significant ethnic differences (51% among Roma/Egyptian children vs. 42% among the general sample of the children); urban/rural differences (46% rural vs. 39% urban); and socio-economic differences (52% among children with a lower maternal education vs. 31% among children with a higher maternal education; 66% among children from poor families vs. 35% among children with a higher family income). In transitional Albania, children residing in rural areas, children from Roma and/or Egyptian communities, and especially those pertinent to low socio-economic families report considerably more barriers to accessing healthcare services, which is a cause of concern.