Factors Defining Accessibility Of Health Services In A Country

Dental accessibility is defined in the literature from the physical and socio-economic point of view. It depends on several factors. In our study, in which we are focusing on the accessibility of dental services in Slovenia, we are raising the importance of factors such as financing, regulation, staffing and organisation of activities at the national level. The study aims to determine how individual stakeholders see the impact of an individual factor on the availability of dental care. We examined the factors determining the level of accessibility of dental services in Slovenia among all relevant system stakeholders. A focus group was held between representatives of the Ministry of Health (as the regulator), representatives of the Medical Chamber (as the contractor) and representatives of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (as the financier). The focus group findings were expected according to the role of the individual system stakeholder. Concerning accessibility to dental services, the Ministry relies primarily on public data and legal regulations, and the Health Insurance Institute argues that access to dental services is the right of every insured person. The Medical Chamber, as a professional body, believes that ensuring accessibility lies primarily in the number of dental teams performing the dental practice. Further research will be done using other quantitative and qualitative research methods to investigate the area of research even more in-depth.