Health Care Needs Research Articles

An Exploratory Study of Educators' Perspectives Towards Hospital School Program Support for Children with Special Health Care Needs After Hospitalization.

More than 14 million children in the United States are identified as children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN). Rates of hospitalization for CSHCN with chronic conditions as well as re-admissions have been increasing in recent years. For hospitalized children transitioning back to their school of record, a host of issues may arise such as socioemotional concerns, peer rejection, and being behind in academics. Hospital-based school programs (HBSPs) play an important role in the transition back to a child's school of record. Utilizing a database of inpatient CSHCN at a midwestern children's hospital's HBSP, private and public-school educators associated with the previously hospitalized CSHCN were asked to complete an online survey to gather their perspectives related to the child's transition back to the school of record upon hospital discharge. Overall, educators' perspectives of the HBSP were positive while perceptions related to communication provided by the HBSP were mixed. Educators surveyed reported a lack of training related to working with CSHCN. Finally, accommodations and services offered to students upon return to school focused mostly on academic performance and attendance. Study limitations and implications for practice in schools are discussed.

Oral Health Status and Care Needs of People with Intellectual Disability in Specialized Centers of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

People with intellectual disabilities suffer from oral pain and discomfort twice as often as the general population. Their reduced cognitive and physical abilities, regular medication, and often the lack of a strong social support system lead to difficulties coping with the daily demands of life, including proper oral hygiene and nutrition. Having data on the oral health status of children and adolescents living with disabilities is crucial to reducing oral health inequalities within the population. The objectives of this study were to describe the main oral conditions, oral health behaviors and identify the care needs of people with intellectual disabilities in specialized centers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A descriptive transversal survey was conducted in the reception centers of intellectual disabled people benefiting from the subsidy of the Ministry of Women, National Solidarity, Family and Humanitarian Action. A questionnaire adapted for oral health surveys of the World Health Organization has been used for data collection that has been analyzed with Stata MP 16.0 software (College Station, Texas 77845, USA). Were included in the study 193 people with intellectual disabilities whose average age was 12.4 years ± 7.9. Our study reported that 74.0% had never visited a dentist and 19.0% of subjects did not clean their teeth. The overall prevalence of caries was 58.6% with 95% CI [51.2 - 65.8]. The frequencies of gingival bleeding and calculus were 63.8% and 63.4% respectively. The other pathologies were divided into 25.5% sialorrhea; 15.0% dental wear; 39.1% malocclusions; 19.2% dental anomalies and 14.4% dental trauma. Subjects who needed prompt and urgent care were 51.6%. This study made it possible to report the oral health behaviors and the main oral diseases encountered in people with intellectual disabilities and the care needs. Health promotion strategies focusing on simple interventions such as appropriate oral care would improve the general well-being of these vulnerable people.

Quality of life, disease burden and healthcare need of patients with vitiligo

With aprevalence of 0.5-2%, vitiligo is one of the most common skin disorders worldwide with loss of pigment. The skin disease has adisfiguring, often stigmatising character and is often associated with psychosocial distress. To provide an overview of the psychosocial impairment, disease burden and resulting health care needs of patients with vitiligo. Narrative review based on aliterature search in PubMed for the years 1996-2022 on disease burden, quality of life and stigmatization is provided. The search yielded 175 relevant original papers including clinical studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews (n = 65) for the search period. Alarge number of studies document that vitiligo is associated with considerable psychosocial stress and relevant losses in quality of life. Problem areas particularly concern stigmatisation, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, reduced self-esteem and problems at work. The observed increased levels of anxiety and depression correlate with the severity and activity of vitiligo. Often, comorbidity also contributes to reduced self-esteem and social isolation. These factors determine ahigh need for care in arelevant proportion of those affected. Vitiligo is not primarily acosmetic problem, but adisease requiring treatment according to the World Health Organisation's definition of health as physical, mental and social well-being. The benefits of treatment options are to be measured by their effects on patient-reported outcomes.

Designing an App to Support Measurement-Based Peer Supervision of Frontline Health Workers Delivering Brief Psychosocial Interventions in Texas: Multimethod Study.

The unmet need for mental health care affects millions of Americans. A growing body of evidence in implementation science supports the effectiveness of task sharing in the delivery of brief psychosocial interventions. The digitization of training and processes supporting supervision can rapidly scale up task-shared interventions and enable frontline health workers (FLWs) to learn, master, and deliver interventions with quality and support. We aimed to assess the perceived feasibility and acceptability of a novel mobile and web app designed and adapted to support the supervision, training, and quality assurance of FLWs delivering brief psychosocial interventions. We followed human-centered design principles to adapt a prototype app for FLWs delivering brief psychosocial interventions for depression, drawing from an app previously designed for use in rural India. Using a multimethod approach, we conducted focus group sessions comprising usability testing and group interviews with FLWs recruited from a large health system in Texas to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the app. The positive System Usability Scale was used to determine the app's overall usability. We also calculated the participants' likelihood of recommending the app to others using ratings of 0 to 10 from least to most likely (net promoter score). Focus group transcripts were coded and analyzed thematically, and recommendations were summarized across 4 key domains. A total of 18 FLWs varying in role and experience with client care participated in the study. Participants found the app to be usable, with an average System Usability Scale score of 72.5 (SD 18.1), consistent with the industry benchmark of 68. Participants' likelihood of recommending the app ranged from 5 to 10, yielding a net promoter score of 0, indicating medium acceptability. Overall impressions of the app from participants were positive. Most participants (15/18, 83%) found the app easy to access and navigate. The app was considered important to support FLWs in delivering high-quality mental health care services. Participants felt that the app could provide more structure to FLW training and supervision processes through the systematic collection and facilitation of performance-related feedback. Key concerns included privacy-related and time constraints regarding implementing a separate peer supervision mechanism that may add to FLWs' workloads. We designed, built, and tested a usable, functional mobile and web app prototype that supports FLW-delivered psychosocial interventions in the United States through a structured supervision mechanism and systematic collection and review of performance measures. The app has the potential to scale the work of FLWs tasked with delivering these interventions to the hardest-to-reach communities they serve. The results of this project will inform future work to evaluate the app's use and efficacy in real-world settings to support task-shared mental health programs across the United States.

The role of subjective, interpersonal, and structural social isolation in 12-month and lifetime anxiety disorders

BackgroundAnxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions worldwide, and the incidence of anxiety disorders among adults in the U.S. have increased over the last decade. Anxiety disorders can have debilitating effects on multiple areas of functioning and quality of life. Recently, social isolation has emerged as an important public health problem associated with worse health and well-being outcomes. Research on the connection between social isolation and mental health has found that multiple dimensions of social isolation may negatively impact mental health, but few inquiries have focused on the association between social isolation and anxiety. This study examined the relationships between multiple dimensions of social isolation and anxiety disorders in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18 and older.MethodsThe sample includes 6082 individuals from the National Survey of American Life. This study examined whether three different dimensions of social isolation—subjective, interpersonal, and structural—were associated with 12-month and lifetime anxiety disorders (any anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and agoraphobia (AG). Logistic regressions were used to test the associations between the three social isolation variables and the anxiety outcomes.ResultsThis study found that of the three dimensions of social isolation, subjective isolation was most consistently related to both lifetime and 12-month anxiety disorders. Those who were subjectively isolated had increased odds of meeting criteria for any anxiety disorder, PTSD, GAD, PD, and AG over the past 12 months and throughout their lifetimes. Structural isolation was negatively associated with lifetime and 12-month AG.ConclusionsPublic health approaches should include mental health and primary care providers and need to target social isolation, especially subjective isolation, which may be key in preventing anxiety disorders and the worsening of anxiety disorders. Future public health research is needed on how and in what ways the differing dimensions of social isolation impact mental health.

Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Unmet Health Care Needs among Children in the United States

ABSTRACT Although studies have investigated and found an association between adverse childhood experiences and poor health and mental health outcomes, there is a dearth of studies investigating the association between adverse childhood experiences and unmet health care needs among children. The objective of this study is to examine the association between adverse childhood experiences and unmet health care needs after adjusting for predisposing, enabling, and need factors of health care service utilization. Data for this study came from the 2016–2017 National Survey of Children’s Health. An analytic sample of 46,081 children (51.3% males; average age 11.5 years) was analyzed using negative binomial regression. Based on parent reports, about 3.5% of children had unmet health care needs, and half (50%) of the sample had experienced at least one childhood adversity. Controlling for other factors, children who experienced three or more childhood adversities had 4.51 times higher odds of having unmet health care needs (AOR = 4.51, p < .001, 95% CI = 3.15–6.45) when compared to their counterparts with no childhood adversity. Children with parents who have someone to turn to for everyday emotional support were 31% less likely to have unmet health care needs (AOR = .69, p < .01, 95% CI = .54–.89). Adverse childhood experiences have a detrimental effect on unmet health care needs. The findings of this study offer an important opportunity for further research on how best to prevent adverse childhood experiences and mitigate their impact on families.

EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS ON AUTOIMMUNE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AMONG PHARMACY AND NURSING STUDENTS OF CHITRADURGA – A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objectives: The study’s goals were to evaluate knowledge and awareness among the students regarding multiple sclerosis (MS) and to compare the knowledge of the same among pharmacy and nursing students. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among the pharmacy and nursing students of Chitradurga, carried out for 6 months. The questionnaire was distributed among students containing 15 questions regarding MS. Each accurate response received a score of “1,” while every incorrect response received “0.” The frequency and percentage were obtained using descriptive approaches. The data are presented as a frequency distribution of mean and standard deviation (SD). Results: A total of 500 participants were enrolled in the study, among which 319 were pharmacy students and 181 were nursing students. The results analyzed that the knowledge assessment mean scores of pharmacy students were higher than those of nursing students. It also showed that students who come under the age group of 23–27 years have higher knowledge compared to the 18–22-year age group. Conclusion: This study concluded that pharmacy students had a piece of better knowledge than nursing students since these occupations play such a significant part in providing health care, knowledge, and understanding need to be raised. Hence, awareness and education about MS should be conducted to enhance students’ knowledge.

Experiences of Women in Sierra Leone Relating to Accessing Breast Cancer Treatment

The lack of consistent access to breast cancer care and treatment remains a significant problem for women diagnosed with breast cancer in Sierra Leone. The instability of the political structure has created an environment with a high level of illiteracy and financial hardship among the female population, resulting in a significant deficiency in information relating to symptoms and the detection of breast cancer. To study the lived experience of women living in Sierra Leone who were diagnosed with breast cancer, I [the first author] used a descriptive phenomenological approach. I conducted semi-structured interviews based on Andersen and Newman’s healthcare utilization model, identifying predisposing, enabling, and need factors (Andersen &amp; Newman, 1973). I recruited 10 participants by placing flyers in two organizations supporting breast cancer patients and used snowball sampling. Findings from the study showed that participants were aware of breast cancer and the risks associated with delayed cancer treatment. Social structures were identified as the main contributors to accessing breast cancer screening and selecting a health facility for treatment. Perceptions of affordability, quality of services, and recommendations by previous clients simultaneously influenced the selection of a health facility. The findings may assist health systems with addressing access to breast cancer care and treatment for women in Sierra Leone. Government officials may utilize the findings from this study to develop healthcare policies regarding access to breast cancer treatment.

Social capital for carers of patients with advanced organ failure: a qualitative exploration of stakeholders’ perspectives

BackgroundCarers of patients with advanced organ failure (AOF) experience a tremendous caregiving burden. Social capital utilizes the internal strength of a community to support its members and may provide carers with comprehensive support. This study aimed to identify the different sources of social capital that can support carers of patients with AOF from the perspectives of stakeholders.MethodA descriptive qualitative study was conducted in community settings from April 2021 to May 2022. Stakeholders from medical social work departments, self-help groups, and non-governmental organizations were recruited, while some community members were invited through online media platforms. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a qualitative description approach. In total, 98 stakeholders, including 25 carers, 25 patients, 24 professionals, and 24 community members, were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling.ResultsSix categories about social capital for carers emerged, namely, carer attributes, the community, social care services, healthcare services, information, and policies. While the attributes of carers and their relationships with care recipients had a significant influence on caregiving, support from different groups in the community, such as neighbors and employers, was valued. Good communication of information about caregiving and social services was emphasized as being helpful by carers and other stakeholders. While carers presented a need for various healthcare and social care services, several features of these services, including their person-centeredness and proactive reach, were deemed useful. At the societal level, policies and research on comprehensive supportive services are warranted. The different sources of social capital constitute a multi-layer support system in the community.ConclusionCarers can utilize personal attributes, interpersonal relationships, community resources, and societal contexts to enhance their caregiving. While this system can serve as a framework for building carer-friendly communities, interventions may be required to strengthen some aspects of social capital.

Disparities in Unmet Health Care Needs Among US Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted pediatric health care in the United States, and this disruption layered on existing barriers to health care. We sought to characterize disparities in unmet pediatric health care needs during this period. We analyzed data from Wave 1 (October through November 2020) and Wave 2 (March through May 2021) of the COVID Experiences Survey, a national longitudinal survey delivered online or via telephone to parents of children aged 5 through 12 years using a probability-based sample representative of the US household population. We examined 3 indicators of unmet pediatric health care needs as outcomes: forgone care and forgone well-child visits during fall 2020 through spring 2021, and no well-child visit in the past year as of spring 2021. Multivariate models examined relationships of child-, parent-, household-, and county-level characteristics with these indicators, adjusting for child's age, sex, and race/ethnicity. On the basis of parent report, 16.3% of children aged 5 through 12 years had forgone care, 10.9% had forgone well-child visits, and 30.1% had no well-child visit in the past year. Adjusted analyses identified disparities in indicators of pediatric health care access by characteristics at the level of the child (eg, race/ethnicity, existing health conditions, mode of school instruction), parent (eg, childcare challenges), household (eg, income), and county (eg, urban-rural classification, availability of primary care physicians). Both child and parent experiences of racism were also associated with specific indicators of unmet health care needs. Our findings highlight the need for continued research examining unmet health care needs and for continued efforts to optimize the clinical experience to be culturally inclusive.

Health Equity and Children With Medical Complexity/Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs: A Scoping Review

A scoping review was conducted to systematically map the research on children with medical complexity and children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) surrounding health equity. Fifteen articles were reviewed with focus on: access to care, quality of life and well-being, and insurance challenges/financing. Findings suggest CYSHCN require more and different types of services than those for typically developing children and youth, yet the current system is not ensuring access to these services. It is important to understand the unique perspectives, challenges, and opportunities of and for this population to better inform policy, research, and practice.

Exploring Barriers to Accessing Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in South Ethiopia Regional State: A Phenomenological Study Using Levesque's Framework.

Evidence suggests that adolescents face multiple barriers to accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services. However, there remains a notable gap in the literature regarding the nuanced interplay between supply-side and demand-side barriers. Therefore, this study aimed to examine barriers to accessing SRH services in the Gamo Zone of South Ethiopia Regional State. A descriptive phenomenology study was conducted from September 04 to October 15, 2023. A total of seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), four with girls and three with boys, with a total of 75 adolescents, and ten Key informant interviews (KIIs)with healthcare providers participated in the study. A semi-structured interview guide was used to explore their lived experiences. All interviews and discussions were audio-recorded. To analyze and manage data framework analysis approach was applied using ATLAS Ti version 7 software. The major barriers preventing adolescents from accessing SRH services are related to the interplay between supply and demand-side barriers across all five domains of the Levesque framework. Despite the high need for access to health care, lack of SRH literacy, lack of outreach activities, and integration of SRH information in health facilities often hampered adolescents' healthcare need. Additionally, fear of stigma from family and community, social norms, and lack of discussion of SRH issues hindered their ability to seek health care. Shortage of supplies and healthcare providers' behaviors further hindering adolescents' ability to access health care services. Furthermore, the limited involvement of adolescents in decision-making and the lack of effective coordination further complicate the appropriateness of services for adolescents. The finding of this study reveals that adolescents face multifaceted barriers. Therefore, there is a need for high-impact complex interventions, program and policy that address both supply and demand side barriers needs to give due intention to improve access to SRH services for adolescents.

The oral health situation and treatment need of schoolchildren Afghanistan: a cross-sectional study.

The present study explores the treatment need for dental caries in schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan. A convenience sample of 13 schools were selected for the study. All schools were located in the urban areas near Herat and were selected through allocation by the Ministry of Health, which also approved the study protocol. In the schools, classes were allocated by the principal of the school. All the children in the allocated classes were included in the survey. Data collection was performed in the school setting by trained Afghan dentist examiners. To measure caries experience, DMFT/dmft scores were used, counting the number of decayed (measured at both white spot (D≥1) and cavitation level (D≥3), according to WHO criteria), missing and filled teeth. Dental caries is a considerable oral health problem in the study population. The present sample has a high proportion of untreated carious lesions and a very low level of restorative care. Moreover, significant differences were shown in relation to gender and age groups. The present survey results confirm the need for professional operative and preventive oral health care in this region.

Unmet need for mental health care is common across insurance market segments in the United States.

A substantial proportion of individuals with depression in the United States do not receive treatment. While access challenges for mental health care have been documented, few recent estimates of unmet mental health needs across insurance market segments exist. Using nationally representative survey data with participant-reported depression symptom severity and mental health care use collected in Spring 2023, we assessed access to mental health care among individuals with similar levels of depression symptom severity with commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and no insurance. Among individuals who reported symptoms consistent with moderately severe to severe depression, 37.8% did not have a diagnosis for depression (41.0%, 28.1%, 33.6%, and 56.3% with commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and no insurance), 51.9% did not see a mental health specialist (49.7%, 51.7%, 44.9%, and 91.8%), and 32.4% avoided mental health care due to affordability in the past 12 months (30.2%, 34.0%, 21.1%, and 54.8%). There was substantial unmet need for mental health treatment in all insurance market segments, but especially among individuals without insurance.

Improvement opportunities for the achievement of reciprocal nursing academic-practice partnerships

American healthcare reform efforts are driving healthcare organizations to demonstrate the ability to reduce costs while improving quality and optimizing healthcare outcomes. Nurses are the largest healthcare clinicians and need proper preparatory education to enter the profession as practice-ready clinicians; however, medical errors and reduced nursing board examination success rates highlight the need for improved nurse academic preparation standards. Evidence has elucidated an expanding nursing education-practice gap problem arising from inadequate integration of academic leadership and faculty within the clinical practice arena. The nursing education-practice gap has been exacerbated by governance structures in academia that limit opportunities for nursing faculty to remain actively engaged in clinical practice settings. To improve new graduate nurse practice readiness, healthcare quality, and cost-effectiveness, academic institutions must partner with healthcare delivery organizations within mutually beneficial models. The purpose of this article is to describe the expanding nursing education-practice gap problem in relevance to American healthcare quality and reform initiatives and to propose innovative solutions assigned with evidence-based standards.

The Evolution and Complications of Long-Term Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices

Heart failure, a common clinical syndrome caused by functional and structural abnormalities of the heart, affects 64 million people worldwide. Long-term mechanical circulatory support can offer lifesaving treatment for end-stage systolic heart failure patients. However, this treatment is not without complications. This review covers the major complications associated with implantable mechanical circulatory support devices, including strokes, pump thrombosis and gastrointestinal bleeding. These complications were assessed in patients implanted with the following devices: Novacor, HeartMate XVE, CardioWest, Jarvik 2000, HeartMate II, EVAHEART, Incor, VentrAssist, HVAD and HeartMate 3. Complication rates vary among devices and remain despite the introduction of more advanced technology, highlighting the importance of device design and flow patterns. Beyond clinical implications, the cost of complications was explored, highlighting the difference in costs and the need for equitable healthcare, especially with the expected rise in the use of mechanical circulatory support. Future directions include continued improvement through advancements in design and technology to reduce blood stagnation and mitigate high levels of shear stress. Ultimately, these alterations can reduce complications and enhance cost-effectiveness, enhancing both the survival and quality of life for patients receiving mechanical circulatory support.

The Lived Experience of Parents of Children and Youth With Special Healthcare Needs on Public and Private Insurance: A Phenomenological Study.

The number of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) is steadily growing in the United States. There are significant differences between private and public health plans in terms of cost, adequacy, and parent satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of parents with CYSHCN enrolled in public and private insurance with or without a nurse care coordinator. This study also sought to understand parents' experience of support. The primary practice setting was participants' choice of location. A qualitative descriptive design was used with 16 parents of children and young adults aged 2 to 21 years. Semistructured interviews were used, and Colaizzi's (1978) eight steps was the selected interpretive method. Five themes emerged for parents navigating their child's insurance in the presence or absence of a nurse care coordinator: (1) Struggle with Self-Preservation, (2) Abandonment and Isolation, (3) Self-Reliance and Advocacy, (4) Interdependence, and (5) Lifeline. These themes were also dependent on the type of insurance and sources of support available. Models centered on care coordination can also be used as a mechanism to guide nurse care coordinators in practice. Providing care coordination support could help lessen the caregiver burden especially while navigating public or private insurance. Results highlighted how insurance companies can make potential changes within the health plan infrastructure. Incorporating nursing care coordination activities not only results in health care savings for the health plan but also improved health outcomes for its enrollees.

Event-independent resilience assessment of the access to care network at the pre-disaster stage using a spatio-temporal analysis

Providing timely access to healthcare is one of the main components of resilient cities and communities. Even without the occurrence of a disaster, the need to access healthcare and the availability of healthcare resources change over time in different areas, so it is crucial to assess the resilience of the access to care network. Previous research on urban infrastructure resilience focused mainly on considering a disaster and its consequences for the performance of systems. This approach limits the generalizability of modeling and assessing resilience to a specific event with considered uncertainties. This research presents a framework to assess the inherent resilience of the access to care network as a complex system at the pre-disaster stage, including the hospital network, population city blocks, access road network, and their interconnections. To conduct this assessment, the availability and accessibility of healthcare resources have been incorporated to establish spatial accessibility, which is compared to the level of need for healthcare. The framework is used for optimizing the system's upgrade decisions under normal operating conditions to improve adaptive static resilience. The methodology and case study illustrate the application of the framework in prioritizing hospitals for upgrading and retrofitting and in urban planning to allocate a location for a new hospital.

Finnish experts' perceptions of digital healthcare forms in 2035 and the anticipated healthcare workforce impacts: a Delphi study

PurposeTo explore Finnish experts' perceptions of the forms of digital healthcare that are anticipated to be the most utilised in healthcare in the medium-term future (year 2035) and anticipated healthcare workforce impacts those forms will have.Design/methodology/approachA total of 17 experts representing relevant interest groups participated in a biphasic online Delphi study. The results for each round were analysed using descriptive statistical methods and inductive content analysis.FindingsThe forms of digital healthcare that the experts perceived as most likely to be utilised were those enabling patient participation, efficient organisation of services and automated data collection and analysis. The main impacts on the healthcare workforce were seen as being the redirection of workforce needs within the healthcare sector and need for new skills and new professions. The decrease in the need for a healthcare workforce was seen as less likely. The impacts were perceived as being constructed through three means: impacts within healthcare organisations, impacts on healthcare professions and impacts via patients.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are not necessarily transferable to other contexts because the experts anticipated local futures. Patients' views were also excluded from the study.Originality/valueHealthcare organisations function in complex systems where drivers, such as regional demographics, legislation and financial constraints, dictate how digital healthcare is utilised. Anticipating the workforce effects of digital healthcare utilisation has received limited attention; the study adds to this discussion.

Unmet Healthcare Needs and Their Determining Factors: Addressing Inequalities in Access to Healthcare in Myanmar

Myanmar aims to achieve universal health coverage by 2030 through the 2017–2021 National Health Plan while providing nearly cost-free healthcare services at public facilities. Nonetheless, concerns regarding healthcare access persist. This study examined healthcare access in Myanmar by identifying the prevalence, determinants, and reasons behind unmet healthcare needs (UHN), which occur when an individual needs healthcare but cannot access it. Descriptive statistical analysis and binary logistic regression were employed using data obtained from 318 residents of Tat Kon Township, Nay Pyi Taw. Among the participants, 23.6% experienced UHN. Specifically, individuals with low income, daily-waged workers, rural residents, younger individuals, and females reported high UHN. The primary reason was the unavailability of healthcare facilities (46.7%), followed by competing personal priorities (19%) and treatment or transportation costs (14%). The government could consider expanding public healthcare infrastructure and implementing a nationwide health insurance system. Continuing the geographic expansion of health services to address the needs of rural residents and extending service hours to accommodate individuals engaged in daily-waged or full-time employment are recommended. These efforts could be complemented by improving public transportation infrastructure, promoting income security, and supporting gender equity to facilitate access to healthcare services.