Public and Private Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia: How Do They Fare in Terms of Accessibility for the Physically Disabled?

ABSTRACT

Public and private hospitals in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor were evaluated in terms of their accessibility for the physically disabled. The research hypotheses for this study included the following (1) Both types of hospitals are accessible for the physically disabled as measured by specifi c criteria but (2) the degree of accessibility is higher in the case of private hospitals as compared to public hospitals. A total of 23 private hospitals and 11 public hospitals in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor were invited to participate in the study. The 5 private hospitals and 5 public hospitals that agreed were evaluated for adequacy of facilities for the physically-disabled. For this purpose, 13 specifi c criteria were assessed and scored for each hospital. These criteria were also grouped into 5 categories, namely, parking, toilet, door and lift, corridor and ramp. Scores were compared between each hospital and then aggregated and compared for private hospitals versus public hospitals. It was found that none of the 5 private hospitals and 5 public hospitals studied satisfi ed 100% of the criteria evaluated. Looking at each hospital individually, the overall scores range from 32% to 92% for the criteria set. Only 4 of the 10 hospitals in our sample achieved overall scores of 80% or higher in terms of the evaluation criteria we used. With the exception of availability of ramps where public hospitals scored slightly higher ,for most of the individual criterion, private hospitals scored higher than public hospitals. Looking at each criterion across all hospitals, the scores range from 59.2% (adequacy of parking) to 85% (adequacy of corridors). The median score obtained by private hospitals and by public hospitals for all 13 criteria were analysed for any difference. The difference between private hospitals and public hospitals is not statistically signifi cant (Mann-Whitney U = 6.5, p-value = 0.099). There is no signifi cant difference between Kuala Lumpur/Selangor private and public hospitals in terms of accessibility for physically disabled people. However, some hospitals are more accessible for the physically disabled than other hospitals. These fi ndings indicate that there is room for improvement.