Impact of Public Health Policies in Ecuadorian Rural Areas

Ecuador underwent an important reform in its public health policies during 2008 with the aim of achieving universal coverage for its population. Its implementation caused important transformations in the national health system, in its infrastructure, in the performance of its personnel and in the quality of services. However, the impact of this reform in rural areas of the country has been little visible in general, an issue that could help not only the scientific community that investigates the subject, but also political and administrative decision makers to maintain the improvement of addresses established at that time. The objective of this study was to systematize how rural actors perceived the implementation of the health reform and how they felt that rural primary health care services, and in particular access to services for the population of these areas, were affected. A bibliographic review of the scientific and governmental literature that has been published so far on the subject and that explores it in 52 rural communities of the country was carried out. The effects of the reform on service quality, availability and accessibility were mainly described as positive or in the right direction.