The present study was designed to assess the acceptability and availability of harm-reduction interventions, including needle exchange, education regarding safer drug-ingestion methods, complementary/alternative therapies, and safe places where problem drinkers and drug takers may stay after consumption or may consume substances on the premises.
'Access' to cancer drugs, encompasses the quality, equitability, acceptability and availability of chemotherapy for those in need [ 8].
The Medicines and Technology building block deals largely with the accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and availability of medicines [ 88].
Issues in high-income countries are focused on the choice of methods and complications, while in developing countries the issue revolves around awareness, acceptability and availability of analgesia for labour [ 6].
Policies need to specify exclusion criteria and consider consent processes, type of test and timing of the testing offer to balance acceptability, competence and availability of individuals.
Although the surveys identified affordability as the main barrier to access, qualitative data suggested that other barriers related to acceptability and availability were significant determinants of access, including on affordability itself.
Long-established criteria from the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend also considering the safety of the screening test and associated diagnostic investigations, the acceptability of the test, and availability of diagnosis and treatment facilities [ 6].
Six criteria have been identified: importance of herd immunity or herd protection, ability to delimit epidemiological units, homogeneity of transmission probability across sub-populations, population's acceptability of randomisation, availability of logistical resources, and estimated sample size.
Greater knowledge of the barriers to accessibility, availability, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services for the poor, rural, and tribal populations is also needed.
As illustrated in the figure, a cohesive, well-functioning immunization program includes many components, all of which dynamically interact to influence the accessibility, availability, acceptability, and affordability of services, with a desired result of continuous coverage, improved service quality, equity, and sustained disease control.
The 2003 NHSS data showed that the coverage rate by commercial insurance varied a great deal between cities [ 16], probably depending on the establishment and acceptability of commercial insurance, and availability and accessibility of mainstream health insurance and other non-commercial insurance schemes.
