Differential access of healthcare services and its impact on women in India: a systematic literature review

The right to healthcare services is considered the highest entitlement in India, with the help of economic prowess. However, after 75 years of independence, the constraints for health services across the gender still exist glaringly, with more discrimination against women. Indian women still struggle to receive proper healthcare facilities compared to their male counterparts, hindering women’s social and economic growth. The current paper discusses a range of literature reviews using a systematic approach according to PRISMA guidelines to find the nuances in accessing healthcare services in the Indian context for women. We searched for a combination of gender and health, such as accessibility, utilization, health-seeking behaviour, healthcare delivery, availability of healthcare services, gender disparity, and barriers in women's healthcare services. The term India also combined with them to unearth all relevant literature. Finally, around 80 research papers were collected and reviewed from different search engines such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and PubMed for assessing the gender angle in healthcare. The paper presents an outline of a theoretical framework with the help of healthcare services' demand and supply side. The paper adopted the health systems approach in its theoretical framework. The paper suggests revisiting existing schemes, policies, and programs regarding gender issues, which help identify solutions and recommendations for policymakers and government bodies.