Access to Healthcare during COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Systems Research
• Information Science

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted healthcare systems globally.
• Maintaining access to essential health services is crucial for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related conditions.
• Deterioration of health systems necessitates a structured approach to understanding and improving healthcare access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map and analyze the existing literature on healthcare access following the emergence of COVID-19.
• To formalize, standardize, and visualize barriers and drivers affecting healthcare access.
• To inform strategies for creating more accessible health systems during pandemics and beyond.

Main Methods:

• An ontological framework was employed to map 131 relevant articles.
• Literature mapping was conducted to identify key themes related to healthcare access.
• Results were compared against World Health Organization guidelines for essential health services.

Main Results:

• The study identified key barriers and drivers influencing healthcare access in the post-COVID-19 era.
• Ontology application facilitated a systematic review and visualization of healthcare access challenges.
• Comparison with WHO guidelines revealed areas of overlap and gaps in existing service maintenance strategies.

Conclusions:

• Ontology provides a robust framework for addressing healthcare access issues during pandemics.
• This systematic approach can refine existing guidelines and identify critical research gaps.
• Findings lay the groundwork for future public health policies and targeted research to enhance healthcare accessibility.