Factors influencing healthcare access among older adults in Southeast Asia: a scoping review guided by the levesque framework

TL;DR

This study explores the challenges older adults in Southeast Asia face in accessing healthcare and suggests policy solutions to improve access.

Contribution

The study applies the Levesque framework to identify barriers and enablers of healthcare access for older adults in the WHO-SEARO region.

Findings

Inadequate health information and high treatment costs hinder healthcare access for older adults in Southeast Asia.

Limited accessibility and social support contribute to unmet healthcare needs among the aging population.

Proactive policies and decentralized programs are needed to improve healthcare access for diverse socio-demographic groups.

Abstract

Access to healthcare among the aging population in the WHO Southeast Asia (WHO-SEARO) encounters several challenges, resulting in unmet healthcare needs in this region. These challenges are associated with adverse health outcomes, including the growing prevalence of multimorbidity (also referred to as multiple long-term conditions), and heightened economic and systemic burdens on healthcare infrastructures.

This study aimed to identify factors influencing healthcare access among older individuals in the WHO-SEARO, adopting a Scoping review methodology based on the Arksey and O’Malley Framework (2005) and the Levesque conceptual framework for access to healthcare.

Multiple databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL, were screened, resulting in the identification and analysis of 39 articles. The findings highlight significant progress in healthcare access among older adults in WHO-SEARO. However, inadequate health information, heightened economic dependency and treatment cost, limited accessibility and social support, often impede optimal healthcare utilization among older adults.

Sustained and improved healthcare access for older adults demands prioritising proactive policies, targeted aged care incentives and, decentralized programs targeting older adults across different socio-demographic milieus.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-025-13838-8.

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