Browsing by Author "Kitunda, Nassoro Rajabu"

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    Health care inequality in the context of neoliberalism: The case of Amana Regional Referral Hospital, Ilala Municipality
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2020) Kitunda, Nassoro Rajabu
    This study explains the social forces, processes and social relations which are responsible for health care inequality in the context of neoliberalism. Commodification processes identified as a social force/relations which are responsible for health care inequality. The study had mainly two specific objectives: First, to describe the forms of health care inequality focusing on Amana Regional Referral Hospital and second to examine the processes of commodification in health care in reproducing health care inequality. The study is guided by two theoretical frameworks, one being that the contradiction between a use-value and exchange- value in health care, continue to play havoc on the health conditions of the people. Since exchange-value dominates use-value, the realization of use-value is predicated on the ability of patient to pay for hospital bills. Second is the concept of structural violence which continues to explain health care inequality by looking at commodification of health care as a form of violence which harms people and justifies this violence, because it continues to produce and reproduce health care inequality in a society. For the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of the study, qualitative method such as In-depth interview, Focus group discussions, observation, and reviewing the documents were used. The findings of the study revealed that, there are four (4) forms of health care inequality in Amana regional referral hospital. These forms include as follows: Inequality within the physician's domain of consultation (doctor and specialist), inequality in types of wards to be admitted, Inequality in the mechanisms of receiving health care services and inequality within and between health insurance schemes. Further the study noted that: These forms of health care inequality are a product of commodification which manifested through money, beyond the use-value, market, and continuation of user fees in health facilities. The study concludes that, the forms of health care inequality which are observed in Amana regional referral hospital are a product of the neoliberal economic system under the operation of commodification of health care. The study recommends that, it's important to address the consequences of commodification in health care in order to solve the problem of inequality in the health care system.