Access to Health Information in Rural Settings – The Implementation of the Library’s Law No. 334/2002 in Transylvania, Romania

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess  the extent to which the Law no. 334/2002 is  implemented in Romania, focusing on the main  points which could facilitate the access to health  information in rural Transylvania. It pursues a cross- sectional design, with a quantitative strategy of  inquiry. The study was conducted in 12 counties  in Transylvania, Romania on a representative  strati fi ed random sample of 216 communes. A  policy analysis framework was created using a  13 dichotomous items chart, operationalized from  the provisions of the law, and calculated on the  basis of one or multiple variables in the dataset.  From the total of 212 communes in the sample,  19 of them (9%), distributed over 9 counties,  did not have a functioning public library at the  time of the interview. Only four of the locations  included in the study complied with at least 10  legal provisions out of the 13 analyzed, while none  complied with all provisions analyzed. Results  showed that the policy is implemented at varying  degrees in rural Transylvania, but a tendency  towards non-compliance is observed, which  would constitute a strong argument for including  developing a comprehensive intervention with a  public policy component in enhancing access to  health information.