Index of accessibility to health regions: an equity indicator for the elderly population

Introduction: The collective health needs to include accessibility to PHC services, especially due to the demographic changes that influence the demand at this healthcare level. Objective: To access the geographical accessibility to BHU using the public bus lines, by health regions, the general population and the elderly according different age groups. Method: The population survey, and the number of stops and bus lines were carried out using secondary data, provided by official websites. The geographic access dimension expressed by calculating the accessibility indexes and chance ratios, by health region, both for general population and for elderly, who were stratified into age groups. Results: Seven health regions assessed, in which general population accessibility indexes ranged from 0,434 to 4,287. When accessibility indexes were observed specifically for elderly people over 80 years old, we observed a ratio of up to 214,692 times lower than the rest of the population in their region. Conclusion: The principle of healthcare equity compromised in Distrito Federal, once differences are observed in bus transportation opportunities regarding the places of healthcare offer in Basic Health Units, in advance of chronological age and in the geographic accessibility indexes for this population.