Assessing equity in the provision of primary health care centers in the Buenos Aires Province: a stochastic frontier analysis

ARNAUDO, MARÍA FLORENCIA; LAGO, FERNANDO; VIEGO VALENTINA; ARNAUDO, MARÍA FLORENCIA; LAGO, FERNANDO; VIEGO VALENTINA

Applied Health Economics and Health Policy

Springer International Publishing AG

Año: 2017 vol. 13 p. 425 - 433

1175-5652

Background: An unequal access to health care between individuals or populations does not imply the existence of inequities; inequalities in health care access must be controlled for differences in need. This is usually done either via direct or indirect standardization methods. Objective:We study the degree of equity in the availability of public primary health care centers between the 134 municipalities of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) with a novel application of an existing statistical tool.Methods:Stochastic frontier analysis was applied to estimate the number of primary care facilities that should be available in each municipality according to demographic variables (population under 4 y.o. and above 65 y.o.), as they are the population groups with higher health care needs. Results:Under all specifications tried, the endowment of primary health care centers at the municipal level tends to increase (but less than proportionally) with the size of population at risk. Also, wealthier jurisdictions tend to be more equitable but more heterogeneous. Conclusions:Stochastic frontier allows us to discriminate between those districts that, according to their needs, are underserved, from those who have a surplus of health facilities. This approach can also help to explore which other elements might be responsible for the observed inequities.