Area-Level socioeconomic disadvantage and access to primary care: A rapid review.

ABSTRACT: Social drivers of health aggregate geographically, contributing to health inequities that primary care access may mitigate. Two area-level measures of social disadvantage are the Area Deprivation Index and Social Vulnerability Index. This rapid review aimed to assess the association between these measures and primary care access. We conducted a rapid review of US studies published through February 11, 2025. Included studies were categorized as defining primary care access by self-reported access to primary care, geographic accessibility, or utilization. We analyzed 31 studies, of which 68% (N = 9/13 Area Deprivation Index, N = 12/18 Social Vulnerability Index) found that greater area-level social disadvantage was consistently associated with reduced primary care access. This

SUBMITTER: Staloff JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12013819 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature