Social capital and access to antiretroviral therapy in Thailand

Abstract

This research on social capital and access to antiretroviral therapy in Thailand was conducted using quantitative methodology. The objectives of this research were to study the relationship of social capital with the influence of antiretroviral therapy in Thailand and to analyze the benefit incidence of access to antiretroviral therapy among populations with different income levels in the national health insurance system. The data were collected on antiretroviral drug recipients in 13 medical service areas of the National Health Security Office covering all regions of Thailand. A stratified sampling method was used for a sample of 665 people. The results showed that social capital was statistically associated with access to antiretroviral therapy. Participation in bridging and bonding networks has therefore influenced the rate of HIV drug access among HIV-positive people. Government sectors should therefore promote more social capitalization processes while raising the right attitude towards people living with HIV. In the analysis of the distribution of the benefits of using government budgets to support access to antiretroviral drugs, it was found that the Universal Health Coverage (Gold Card or 30-baht for all diseases) is more beneficial for the poor (pro-poor). However, it is interesting that all groups, whether they are middle-income groups, high-income, and highest-income groups, also benefited, while the fifth (highest-income) benefited comparatively more from this privilege than others. Therefore, policymakers may review the issue of medical treatment rights and the allocation of expenditure budgets in order to distribute benefits more directly to target groups by The poor registration data was linked to the hospital data able to produce tangible results of the policy.