Assessing Barriers to Effective Coverage of Health Services for Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: Understanding barriers to health services, as experienced by adolescents, is important to expand effective and equitable coverage; however, there is limited discussion on methods for conducting barrier assessments and translating findings into action.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of literature published between 2005 and 2019 on barriers to health services for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. The review was guided by a framework that conceptualized barriers across multiple dimensions of access (availability, geographic accessibility, affordability, and acceptability), utilization, and effective coverage.

Results: We identified 339 studies that assessed barriers related to at least one dimension of the operational framework. Acceptability (93%) and availability (88%) of health services were the most frequently studied access dimensions; affordability (45%) and geographic access (32%) were studied less frequently. Less than half (40%) of the studies evaluated utilization, and none of the 339 studies assessed effective coverage. Attention to equity stratifiers (e.g., income, disability) was limited. Topics studied reflected only a subset of the major causes of adolescent death and disability.

Conclusions: Holistic, equity-oriented approaches are needed to better understand barriers across multiple dimensions that together determine whether health services are accessible, used, and effectively meet the needs of different adolescent groups.

Keywords: Adolescent health services; Effective coverage; Health equity; Health services accessibility; Low- and middle-income countries; Services utilization.