Hoop, Sytse, de (2024) When healthcare facilities move away; a qualitative study on personal experiences in Noard-East Fryslân. Bachelor thesis.
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Abstract
Regional healthcare is a continuously relevant topic and has been a popular subject of discussion in the Netherlands for the past decades. Though the importance of healthcare is assured, its availability is not always a given. When we study healthcare availability, we can see rural regions struggling with this. Healthcare is a costly sector, and as such requires a constant and substantial inflow of patients to exist. This study aims to measure the experiences of rural inhabitants in their interactions with regional healthcare. To aid in the measuring of these experiences, the following research question is proposed: What are the experiences of inhabitants of Noard-East Fryslân when healthcare facilities move further away? The role of health literacy, and perceived accessibility is discussed in this context. For this research, the case of regional hospital De Sionsberg, located in the north-eastern part of Dutch province Fryslân is studied. The hospital, which was declared bankrupt in 2014, reopened its doors with limited services to offer, being dependent on services from colleague hospitals in Leeuwarden (Fryslân), Drachten (Fryslân) and Groningen (Groningen). Nine local inhabitants of the municipality of Noard-East Fryslân were approached through accessibility and snowball sampling. They were interviewed in this qualitative study and asked about their experiences with this new medical centre. Collected data was analysed through directed deductive coding. Both the importance of health literacy, as well as the implications of this loss of medical facilities for said health literacy are discussed in this context. Results show resilient and proud sentiments, though shortcomings are recognised by the inhabitants. The lack of facilities such as an Emergency Room and rooms equipped for complex surgeries is commonly highlighted. Improvements could be made according to the rural inhabitants, for whom travel distances are often long. This study tried to answer the question: “What are the experiences of inhabitants of Noard-East Fryslân when healthcare facilities move further away?”. Important themes that were identified include: personal experiences, place attachment, accessibility, and health literacy. The importance and need of regional healthcare are recognized, shortcomings were shared, and many inhabitants would like to see further improvements in this sector. Though a realistic and content general view of the health facilities was voiced. As a recommendation for future research comparisons could be made between this case and regions in the Netherlands where healthcare facilities have entirely disappeared. For a broader, general view on the population, a quantitative study could give further insights.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Human Geography and Planning |
| Supervisor: | Oosterhoff, A.T. |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Oct 2024 09:48 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Oct 2024 09:48 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4773 |
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