By ITDP Brasil

The analysis shows that it is the low-income population that takes more time to access the high and medium complexity healthcare facilities, such as clinics and doctor’s offices
The access to essential health services has become even more important in the situation of a global pandemic, such as we are experiencing with the spread of the new coronavirus. In this regard, the urban policies that determine how people move around and the time it takes them to reach a basic healthcare unit or hospital are of immense importance to facilitate the care.

With the objective of collaborating to this debate and to help public managers in the challenge of making our cities more resilient and fair, Newsletter # 6 MobiliDADOS in Focus indicates how much time people living in the 20 largest Brazilian cities need to take to reach low, medium and high capacity healthcare facilities. The explored data was taken from the Access Project to Opportunities led by Ipea in collaboration with ITDP and some of this data can be accessed at MobiliDADOS.

The analysis shows that the bicycle is the fastest way to access healthcare facilities for people seeking low complexity care, such as basic health units and Emergency Care Units (UPAs). In addition to those who seek care, cycling can also be an option for those who visit patients and also for the professionals who work there.

[Analyzed cities: Public + Active Transport: Active Transport]

The low performance of public transport draws attention in all of the surveyed cities, having been the least efficient method of transport. Walking is seen as a challenge in part of the large Brazilian cities, especially in those where the population lives far from the urban centers. In these cases, the low complexity facilities need to be more distributed in the areas with the objective of facilitating access on foot.

In addition to presenting the scenario of the access and the challenges for each mode of transport, the newsletter shows ways to confront the problems by considering the attributions of the municipal managers. The publication also lists some priorities and presents good practices with a focus on creating a positive agenda so that the next municipal managers implement actions that make the cities more resilient by promoting access to the opportunities.

Newsletter #6 can be read here , in Portuguese.

This text was originally published on the website of ITDP Brasil, on April 16, 2020.