Evaluating Healthcare Accessibility in Kazakhstan: Urban and Rural Perspectives

Abstract

Despite the policy pursued by the Head of State and the government to improve the current healthcare system and certain successes achieved, the quality and availability of services provided by medical organizations to the Kazakhstan population remain low. This is evidenced by statements by officials, as well as a survey of the population. This article examines the primary trends in healthcare development with a particular focus on the urban-rural divide and proposes strategies to enhance service quality and accessibility in rural areas. Given the complexity of the tasks, both theoretical and empirical research methods were used in the research process, in particular economic and statistical methods and structural and institutional analysis. A special role in the study belongs to a sociological survey, which made it possible to obtain information about the quality and availability of medical services for various groups of the population, depending on their place of residence. Based on a comprehensive study, the main trends in the development of healthcare in the republic in recent years have been identified. It has been determined that in the context of the availability of medical services, the main gap lies along the rural-urban line. Based on the identified problems, recommendations were developed to eliminate them and improve the quality of medical services. Further, the study explores the attitudes towards medical treatment based on the place of residence, leading to targeted proposals to enhance the quality and accessibility of medical care in rural areas.