Potentially Traumatic Event Experiences and Health Care Service Use in Liberia
type: CreativeWork
description: Several studies in high-income countries (HIC) have shown that the experience of potentially traumatic events (PTE) is associated with increased health care service use. Information on patterns of health care use and expectations by this group of individuals can be useful for providing patient-centric care and improving health system accountability and responsiveness. Despite the necessity of this work, less research has been conducted in low and lower-middle income countries (LIC; LMIC), especially in countries with a recent history of conflict, which is problematic for several reasons. Experience of PTEs, especially assaultive violence and injuries, may be higher in LICs and LMICs compared to HICs, which may lead to poor physical and mental health and increased demand for health care services. The formal health care system in LICs and LMICs, especially in those countries emerging from conflict, however, may be in a process of renewal and improvement. Many necessary health services may remain unavailable for several years during this process, accountability is often lacking, and the health system may not have the capacity to respond to health care needs. Likely stemming from this lack of formal care, many LICs and LMICs have substantial informal care markets, and most individuals view both systems as complementary, despite the complete lack of regulation and training of informal care providers compared to formal care providers. In order for the formal care system to improve accountability and responsiveness, studies that assess the relation between PTE experience and use of both informal and formal care as well as patient preferences for formal care are critical. Such studies would shed light on where individuals with PTE experience are seeking care and what they expect from formal care. I conducted three investigations in order to better understand the association between experience of PTEs and health care service use in LICs and LMICs. In chapter one, I designed …
abstract: Several studies in high-income countries (HIC) have shown that the experience of potentially traumatic events (PTE) is associated with increased health care service use. Information on patterns of health care use and expectations by this group of individuals can be useful for providing patient-centric care and improving health system accountability and responsiveness. Despite the necessity of this work, less research has been conducted in low and lower-middle income countries (LIC; LMIC), especially in countries with a recent history of conflict, which is problematic for several reasons. Experience of PTEs, especially assaultive violence and injuries, may be higher in LICs and LMICs compared to HICs, which may lead to poor physical and mental health and increased demand for health care services. The formal health care system in LICs and LMICs, especially in those countries emerging from conflict, however, may be in a process of renewal and improvement. Many necessary health services may remain unavailable for several years during this process, accountability is often lacking, and the health system may not have the capacity to respond to health care needs. Likely stemming from this lack of formal care, many LICs and LMICs have substantial informal care markets, and most individuals view both systems as complementary, despite the complete lack of regulation and training of informal care providers compared to formal care providers. In order for the formal care system to improve accountability and responsiveness, studies that assess the relation between PTE experience and use of both informal and formal care as well as patient preferences for formal care are critical. Such studies would shed light on where individuals with PTE experience are seeking care and what they expect from formal care. I conducted three investigations in order to better understand the association between experience of PTEs and health care service use in LICs and LMICs. In chapter one, I designed …
author: Paczkowski, Magdalena
language: English
keywords: Epidemiology
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:44:27Z
provider: Columbia University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Columbia University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7916/D8TX3NJZ