Analysis of the geographic distribution of health inequity through accessibility to outpatient medical consultations

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have related the geographic inequity of access to health through outpatient medical consultations  (OMC) in the official sector at national level. The objective of this research was to describe, evaluate, and measure the situation of access to health regarding OMC in Argentina in 2017. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study  was conducted. The analysis unit was the OMC in Argentina in 2017. The OMC rates at national and provincial level, and for the  population of potential users that attend official establishments (PPUAOE) were calculated. RESULTS: The highest PPUAOE OMC  rates per inhabitant were observed in Tierra del Fuego (9.1), La Pampa (10.0), Buenos Aires (10.2) and the Autonomous  City of Buenos Aires (13.6), all in the fourth quartile (Q4); the ones with the lowest rates, in the first quartile (Q1), were Santiago  del Estero (2.3), Córdoba (2.7), Santa Fe (3.0), Corrientes (3.4), Catamarca (3.5) and Formosa  (3.7). DISCUSSION: The greatest  geographic inequity of access to health with respect to the PPUAOE OMC in the official sector occurred in the north-central  region of the country, with rates ranging from 2.3 to 13.6. Regarding the increase of non-medical consultations in recent years, the variation between 2010 and 2017 was 966.8%, which contrasts to the increase shown by OMC in the same period (only 7.4%).