Lancet Regional Health - Americas · 9 authors, 9 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This ecological study used open government data and geospatial analysis to estimate that only 48.4% and 69.1% of Guerrero's population can access a surgical facility within 30-min and 1-h driving times, respectively. Municipalities with the highest earthquake risk and social vulnerability had the lowest surgical coverage, with resilience being the most significant predictor of 30-min access.
This ecological study used open government data to map surgical facility coverage across 81 municipalities in Guerrero, Mexico, a state with high tectonic activity. Researchers identified 25 public and 16 private facilities capable of providing surgical care and used geospatial analysis to estimate population coverage within 30-min and 1-h driving times. They found that 48.4% and 69.1% of the population could access a surgical facility within 30 min and 1 h, respectively. Ordered beta regression models showed that municipalities with very high levels of earthquake risk, social vulnerability, social inequality, and marginalisation, and very low levels of resilience had decreased coverage. Only 2.5% of health facilities in Guerrero offered surgical assistance. Limitations include the ecological design, assumption that roads and facility infrastructure would remain operational after an earthquake, and use of 2021 data as the most recent available.
