Design and application of a survey for measuring multidimensional access to health services

Abstract

Objectives: Access to health services is a critical factor in ensuring equitable healthcare delivery. Understanding patient perspectives on barriers and obstacles to healthcare access is essential for improving health outcomes. This study aims to design and test an instrument to assess self-perceived access to health services across different levels of care, encompassing all process dimensions.

Methods: The survey, constructed with an interdisciplinary approach, is administered at the household level. It was validated by experts and approved by a Bioethics Committee. This survey was conducted in a medium-sized city in Argentina.

Results: The validated instrument provides a comprehensive tool to investigate, from the patient's perspective and preferences, the barriers that prevent a health need from becoming a demand and the obstacles to effectively using the needed healthcare service. The implementation of the survey revealed significant insights into these issues.

Conclusions: Our instrument offers valuable insights into the patient-perceived barriers to healthcare access. It is a robust tool for identifying the obstacles that impede the utilization of health goods and services in the different levels of care, thereby improving healthcare delivery systems.

Keywords: Accesibilidad a los servicios sanitarios; Cuestionario de salud del paciente; Disparidades en la atención sanitaria; Health services accessibility; Healthcare disparities; Patient health questionnaire.