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Healthcare quality
Dimension: Response capacity
Category: Health
Definition: the World Healthcare Organization defines healthcare quality as a service that provides evidence-based attention that responds to individual needs, preferences, and values. A healthcare system needs to fulfill four characteristics to be considered high-quality:
- Waiting times for accessing the service must be as low as possible.
- Service quality doesn't have to vary by age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or another personal characteristic.
- All levels of the health system have to be coordinated.
- Efficient in using resources, especially avoiding the waste of medicine or other goods.
Calculation: The indicator is calculated by expert consultation. The tool is a questionnaire that aggregates points to measure the quality of the healthcare system (administrative level 2). The maximum number of points (10) means that the services provided by the public health system are good. Meanwhile, 0 means that the services are non-existence or low quality. This questionnaire is designed to evaluate only the public sector.
Which health facilities are present in the community? (this question doesn't have points assigned)
- Health post
- Health center
- Hospital
- None (questionnaire ends)
How often are health facilities open? (1 point)
- Every day of the week. (0 points)
- Only five days a week. (0.5 points)
- Less than five days a week. (1 point)
Are 24-hour services available? (1 point)
- Yes (0 points)
- No (1 punto)
How long are the waiting times for getting a basic health consultation? (1 point)
- It is provided the same day people require it. (0 points)
- It takes more than one day to access it. (0.33 points)
- One week to have access. (0.66 points)
- More than one week. (1 point)
The services available in all the languages (primarily indigenous ones) of the community? (2 point)
- All the staff speaks the languages of the region. (0 points)
- Some staff speaks the languages of the region. (1 point)
- Staff only speaks Spanish. (2 points)
How is the availability of medicines and other goods? (1 point)
- There are enough medicines to cover the necessities of the patients. (0 points)
- Some medicines are available, and the patients must buy others. (1 point)
- All the medicines have to be bought by the patients. (2 points)
How often do some people have to move to another region (or even country) to access health services unavailable in the community? (2 point)
- Very often (nearly all patients have to do it). (0 points)
- Sometimes (only for strong diseases). (1 point)
- Never (2 points)
Has the medical staff denied services because of discrimination against these groups? (2 point)
- LGBTQI+ community (0.2 points)
- Women (0.2 points)
- Mayan people (0.2 points)
- Xinkas (0.2 points)
- Afrodescendents (0.2 points)
- Garifuna (0.2 points)
- Refugees (0.2 points)
- Foreigners (0.2 points)
- Elder people (0.2 points)
- Kids and adolescents (0.2 points)
The methodology for calculating this indicator is the sum of all the points assigned for each answer selected. There are two types of questions that lead to different aggregation of points:
- Single-choice questions: only the value of the chosen answer is counted.
- Multiple-choice questions: all the points assigned to the various answers selected had to be added.
Data sources: Expert consultation.
Comments and limitations: The options of the first question obey the three types of healthcare facilities provided by Guatemala's Ministry of Health. This question is to understand which healthcare facilities are present in the region. It doesn't have assigned points in the final score because not all the communities in a country should have a hospital (for example); it is only for registering the service that is qualified.
- World Health Organization (2018). Handbook for National Quality Policy and Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565561