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As members of the Nordic family of welfare states, both Norway and Denmark are characterised by universal access to health care. Legislation and individual rights have increasingly been used as tools to promote and protect patients' equal access to health care services. At the same time both countries are struggling with increasing health care expenditures, waiting lists and a demand to prioritise health care resources in light of new and expensive treatment options. This calls for political space to adjust prioritisation policies and procedures. The article analyses the regulation of access to hospital care in Norway and Denmark, from a law and politics perspective. We explore similarities and differences between the two countries with respect to the objectives of the regulation and formulation of the right to hospital care, and how the interplay between law and politics – and juridification and politicisation – is expressed and managed in the regulation. We conclude that even though there are differences between the two countries in the extent of juridification, the regulation in both countries still leaves room for continued political governance of issues related to the prior itisation of health care services.

"The overall theme of the volume is the understanding of human dignity, autonomy and human rights in health care and social services in modern welfare states, with special reference to the Nordic countries. Focus is put on vulnerable groups such as children, individuals with cognitive impairment or mental illness and persons with physical disabilities. Experts from different disciplines identify ethical and legal dilemmas in modern welfare services and describe how basic values and/or rights are or may come in conflict in concrete situations. Of particular interest is how the human rights perspective challenges the policies and regulations of modern welfare states and at the same time provides the overall normative direction as for how to solve ethical, legal and social conflicts or shortcomings. Although the human rights perspective is the most dominant, insights from philosophy and social sciences provide both a necessary and fruitful supplement to the legal approach. The volume is of interest for academics, researchers and students in the field of health care ethics, human rights and welfare state policies. It presents a challenging outlook on dilemmas characteristic for the modern welfare state in general, and for the Nordic countries in particular, and it gives the reader important insights and references for further studies."--Publisher's description

Background: Maternal mortality rates are still unacceptably high in many countries, indicating violation of women´s human right to life and health. Access to adequate information about maternal health rights and available services are essential aspects of realizing women´s right to accessible health care. This study aimed at assessing awareness of the right to access maternal health services among women who had recently given birth, and the association between such awareness and the utilization of maternal health services in two districts in Tanzania. Methods: This study was cross sectional in design. Interviews were conducted with women who gave birth within one year prior to the survey in two different district councils (DC) namely Hai DC and Morogoro DC, selected purposively based on the earlier reported rates of maternal mortality. We used a two-stage cluster sampling to select the study sample. Analysis employed Chi-square test and Logistic regression. Results: A total of 547 respondents were interviewed. Only a third (34.4%) reported to be aware of their right to access maternal health services. Main sources of information on maternal health rights were the media and health care providers. Occupation and education level showed a statistically significant association with awareness of access rights. Hai DC had higher proportion of women aware of their access rights compared to Morogoro DC. Women who were aware of their right of access were almost 5 times more likely to use skilled birth attendants compared to those who were not (AOR 4.61 95% CI: 2.14–8.57). Conclusion and recommendations: Awareness of the right to access maternal health services was low in the studied population. To increase awareness and hence uptake of Pregnancy care and skilled birth attendants at delivery we recommend the government and partners to prioritize provision of information, communication and education on women´s human rights, including the right to access maternal health services, especially to women in rural areas. ; publishedVersion