Regresar

The use of a geographic index of social well-being for health planning at municipality level

Abstract:

Objective. This paper analyzes the relationship between a living standards index for small areas based on census data and information on morbidity and health care utilization. Material and methods. The information was gathered through a health interview survey of a random sample of I 238 households from rural areas of Tlaxcala, Mexico. Results. The population from localities with lower living standards showed significantly higher prevalences of morbidity and worse self-reported health status measures, as compared to localities with higher living standards. On the contrary, higher living standards were related with a greater utilization of health services. Conclusions. The approach proved to be useful in discriminating localities and areas of high and low prevalence of morbidity and utilization of health care services, which in turn could be used to identify those areas where needs are greatest. The implications of the results for health planning and resource allocation (based on population health needs and underlying social conditions) at the local level are discussed.