Access to care

Health Management Glossary

Public Health and Policy

Definition. Access to care is the ability of people to obtain appropriate health services when needed, shaped by availability, affordability, acceptability and geographic accessibility.

Explanation

Andersen’s behavioral model frames access through predisposing, enabling and need factors (Andersen, 1995), and national health surveys apply it to study use of services (Andersen, 2008). Medical geographers emphasise the spatial dimension of access (Powell, 1995).

Related concepts

Andersen behavioral model Unmet healthcare need Healthcare utilization Health equity Health geography

Read on The Health Topics

• Understanding the Behavioral Model of Health Services
• National Health Surveys and the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use
• Health Geography 101: Why -Where- Is a Health Variable

References

Andersen, R. M. (1995). Revisiting the Behavioral Model and Access to Medical Care: Does it Matter? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36 (1), 1–10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2137284

Andersen, R. M. (2008). National health surveys and the behavioral model of health services use. Medical Care, 46 (7), 647–653.

Powell, M. (1995). On the outside looking in: Medical geography, medical geographers and access to health care. Health & Place, 1(1), 41-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/1353-8292(95)00005-7

Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Access to care. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/access-to-care/

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