Sociological assessment of accessibility and quality of primary health care in the context of public health

The article presents the results of a sociological study conducted to assess the perception of the population of the Southern region of the Kyrgyz Republic of the availability and quality of primary health care (PHC). The aim of this study is to comprehensively assess the perception of accessibility of primary health care by the population of Osh city and surrounding rural areas with an emphasis on the main barriers and opportunities for improving the system at the regional level. The relevance of the work is due to the persistent territorial, personnel and organizational disparities in the healthcare system, especially in rural areas. The methodological basis of the study was a survey of 200 respondents, evenly distributed between urban and rural residents. The questionnaire contained questions reflecting demographic characteristics, perception of the distance to medical institutions, work schedule, satisfaction with the quality of treatment, attitude of medical personnel and the level of trust in the healthcare system. Analysis of the data obtained showed that only an insignificant part of respondents assess PHC as fully accessible. The main barriers are associated with queues, lack of specialists, inconvenient work schedules, financial difficulties and lack of trust. Of particular concern is the low level of explanatory work by medical personnel. The obtained results emphasize the need to implement a patient-oriented model of primary health care, improve routing, increase health literacy and strengthen feedback between the population and the health care system. The findings can be used in the development of regional strategies for the modernization of primary health care as part of the formation of a sustainable public health system.