Inequality in Access to Healthcare: A Latin American Perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Inequality in access to healthcare is a significant issue globally, with disparities in access to health services, health outcomes, and health-related behaviors. Latin America is known for its income and wealth inequality, and perceptions of inequality in health services during the COVID-19 pandemic are crucial to consider in formulating public policies in this sector. Objective: This study aims to determine the factors associated with the perception of inequality and access to health services in Latin America in 2020. Methods: The study uses data from the 2020 Latinobarómetro and focuses on socio-demographic, perception, and access to health services factors. Three supervised learning algorithms were used: logit regression with Lasso regularization algorithm, decision tree, and random forests. Results: The study found that the factors associated with the perception of inequality and access to health services in Latin America in 2020 include age, education, income, health insurance, and type of healthcare facility used. Conclusions: The study provides valuable insights into the perception of inequality associated with access to health systems in Latin America, one of the world's most unequal regions. Public policies addressing this issue would positively influence Latin Americans' objective and subjective quality of life. However, there is a need for more consensus on appropriate indicators for measuring access to health, and more studies analyzing access to health services during the pandemic and users' perception are necessary.