Social Determinants of Rural Elderly Women’s Healthcare Access: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Literature

Abstract

Research to date on rural elderly women’s healthcare is primarily focused on morbidity and biomedical causes of diseases. This systematic review of qualitative literature aims to explore the social determinants of women’s healthcare access. Major databases were searched and references from retrieved articles and appropriate journals were manually checked. Data were extracted from 22 studies, and synthesised into four themes: (a) health beliefs, (b) healthcare practices, (c) adverse socioeconomic environment, and (d) cultural implications. This article identifies a need to focus specifically on women’s overall health including care needs and support, socioeconomic factors and cultural issues.