The ease in reaching health services or health facilities in terms of location, time, and ease of approach.
Using the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Health Systems Strengthening Glossary, the Coalition defines access as “the ease in reaching health services or health facilities in terms of location, time, and ease of approach.” The glossary itself is an extensive list of terms and definitions—many of which the Coalition has decided to use—that draws from technical briefs, research, and textbooks. This specific definition draws from Johns Hopkins Professor Barbara Starfield’s Basic concepts in population health and health care. Starfield’s article aims to provide operational definitions for researchers, scholars, and others involved in discussions regarding public health. The result is a definition that provides a solid basis for Coalition-wide understanding of the term.
World Health Organization. “Health Systems Strengthening Glossary.” World Health Organization, 2011. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/health-systems-strengthening-glossary.pdf?sfvrsn=b871d95f_4.