Kwannapa Preechamanitkul. Social stratification, medical welfare and medical treatment patterns for end-stage renal disease patients . Master's Degree(Medical and Health Social Sciences). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2004.
Social stratification, medical welfare and medical treatment patterns for end-stage renal disease patients
Abstract:
This qualitative research of medical treatment patterns for end-stage renal disease
patients through social stratification and medical welfare was conducted using social
stratification concepts. The study was conducted with 17 end-stage renal disease patients
residing in Bangkok. Data was collected through in-depth interview. It was found that there
were three patterns of medical treatment provided for end-stage renal disease patients,
namely, advanced treatment pattern where patients received kidney transplantation;
stabilizing treatment pattern, where patients received hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory
peritoneal dialysis; and hopeless pattern, where patients received conservative treatment and
restricted fluid and diet. All patients received different treatments as a consequence of
different social stratifications and welfare provided by the government, as follows:
The group that received advanced treatment included mostly upper-class people, with
high income, prestige, high status and power. Although they did not have any welfare, they
were able to take responsibility for their own health, including access to a renal transplant,
which is a high-cost medical service with a complex treatment pattern. However, some
middle class people in this group did not have medical welfare but could have a renal
transplant due to the support and advice of the doctor who sought funding from
transplantation charities. Most patients in the group that received stabilizing treatment pattern
were middle-class people, with prestige, power, and welfare benefits, so they could access
hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis treatments that are high-cost but
supported by the government. However, they had no access to kidney transplant treatment
because of a lack of support. Moreover, they could not afford immunosuppressive medicine,
which is expensive and must be taken for the entire lifetime. Some rich patients in this group
could not access renal transplantation because of their old age. Some patients were of low
class and did not have welfare insurance, but did have access to this treatment because of
specialcase support from a charity organization. The group in “hopeless case” treatment
pattern category which included poor people who do not have welfare benefits, did not know
any people who could help, nor were they cared for by any charity. Consequently, they were
not able to access other quality treatment patterns. Therefore, inequity of access to the
medical treatment provided for end-stage renal disease patients resulted from current social
stratification and disparity of health insurance. The government should seriously review these
problems and determine ways to improve equality of access to medical treatment for all end-stage
renal disease patients.