Abstract

FUENZALIDA, Manuel  and  CARVAJAL, Eduardo. Desigualdades en la atención hospitalaria por diabetes mellitus en el Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Central, Chile. Rev. Univ. geogr. [online]. 2019, vol.28, n.1, pp.91-112. ISSN 1852-4265.

Diabetes mellitus is a pathology with a strong presence in urban areas. From an exploratory approach, we seek to recognize whether health inequalities among groups in the same territory exist. The study area includes the municipalities of the Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Central. The source of information corresponds to the statistical report of hospital care for the year 2016. Pathologies with codes E10-E14 were selected. The identification of the socioeconomic level was obtained from data collected by type of health beneficiary so that three socioeconomic groups were formed. Specific rate of hospital admissions, gap and inequality gradient were calculated. In addition, origin-destination flows were mapped to know the distribution of demand for hospital beds and the offer of hospital care. The results show that the gradient tends to be more unequal in the municipalities of Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Estación Central and Cerrillos, where residents tend to satisfy their demand in a smaller number of alternatives, close to their place of origin. In Maipú and Santiago, the damage in health is distributed more evenly, the number of alternatives is greater and patients are able to travel a longer distance to meet their demand for hospital care.

Keywords : Health Inequalities; Health Geography; Diabetes Mellitus.

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