The importance of accessibility in the planning of localization and size of health services

Abstract

Geographical localization and size are two factors which play an important role in accessibility to health services. This accessibility, in its turn, is a basic requirement for ensuring the access of the population to health. A study was undertaken, in Santo Amaro, a suburb of the city of S. Paulo, Brazil, on the application of a methodology which takes into account the relationships among the geographical, demographic and social variables, in each particular situation, leading to the formulation of alternative proposals for the localization and size of health services. The kind of approach to each situation employed in this study proved fundamental in opening up a broad range of possibilities for the study of other subjects through the application of the same methodology, especially recommended for the implanting of local health systems.