Strategie radzenia sobie rodziców chorych dzieci z ograniczonym dostępem do świadczeń medycznych

Abstract

The article raises the issue of problem managing by parents of ill children with a limited access to medical services, connected with an organizational-legal situation of Polish health service nowadays. Empirical studies, conducted on the group of 250 parents allowed for defining the nature of the preventive strategies used, their conditioning and mutual relations. The results show that the biggest restrictions for parents are connected with the lack of centralized medical services in one place, waiting too long for services and high prices of medicaments. Parents blame doctors and centres in which their child is treated for taking medical decisions most often. In order to overcome restrictions they most frequently turn to the doctor when the first illness symptoms appear or, on the contrary, postpone it till the condition of a child gets worse substantially. What is common is treating children on one’s own, though parents admit that they seldom make use of professional sources of information. They often look for support among their relatives. The majority of parents feel a strong sense of anger, evoked by an inappropriate functioning of health service in their opinion. Functioning in the so-called “Polish culture of complaining” on a daily basis, facilitates the expression of negative opinions, but also allows for obtaining and deepening social bonds supporting negative emotions. Despite a publicized phenomenon of the existence of a “grey area” in health service, the majority of parents clearly objected to giving bribes to doctors and nurses, admitting, at the same time, that they look for people who can accelerate medical services willingly. In spite of difficulties in obtaining medical services, a low inclination to resign from and small readiness to make complaints was observed.