An ontological analysis of the barriers to and facilitators of access to healthcare

• Published in: Journal of public health Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 1411 - 1421
• Main Authors: Núñez, Alicia, Ramaprasad, Arkalgud, Syn, Thant, Lopez, Harold
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adequacy; Epidemiology; Health care; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Ontology; Original Article; Public Health; Scientific papers; Chile; Healthcare access; Barriers to access; Ontology; Chile
• ISSN: 2198-1833; 1613-2238
• DOI: 10.1007/s10389-020-01265-4

Background Chile, like many other countries, has seen major health reforms. It is now moving towards universal access using social protection strategies. It is essential at this point to have a clear view of the barriers to and facilitators of healthcare that Chile’s population faces. Methods We used ontological meta-analysis to formalize, standardize, and assess healthcare access in Chile by mapping the 200 research papers written about it. This methodology can be adapted to any other country to analyze its current situation. Results The results highlight the frequent, infrequent, and absent research themes. Among some of the findings are the importance of improving access to healthcare using physical, virtual, and combined access, based on the resource conditions, type of care, and the adequacy of personnel providing care. Conclusions This ontology and the analysis set the foundation for future research and establishment of policies in relevant areas where we are currently not paying enough attention.