Abstract

ROJAS, Karla Teresa; CHAVEZ SOTO, Tania; GARROCHO RANGEL, Carlos  and  MORALES, Erika. City and COVID-19: Accessibility of the Older Adult Population to Medical Units in Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico. Frontera norte [online]. 2022, vol.34, e2300.  Epub Feb 10, 2023. ISSN 2594-0260.  https://doi.org/10.33679/rfn.v1i1.2300.

COVID-19 confronts healthcare systems with an enormous demand for services. A large part of the affected population is vulnerable due to their age, comorbidities, and socioeconomic status. The objectives of this research are: 1) to estimate accessibility to public primary care units for older adults in Chimalhuacán through walking transfers, and 2) to identify the locations that increase, to a greater extent, the accessibility of this population to new primary care units. The proposed methodology combines two methods to achieve a more accessible, efficient, and equitable socio-spatial distribution of the healthcare system for older adults in a dense urban Mexican municipality. The results reveal inequalities in the accessibility of this group to healthcare units, and a local solution is proposed by increasing the service with six new facilities. The conclusions synthesize the main findings and limitations of the work, suggesting lines of research.

Keywords : COVID-19; accessibility to health services; older adults; Chimalhuacán; State of Mexico.

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