The article considers healthcare access and quality for older adults in modern Russia. Based on literature sources and sociological research data, we substantiate the high level and special nature of the needs of older people in medical care. The aim of the work is to assess healthcare access and quality for older adults in the Vologda Region in comparison with other age groups, as well as in the context of the private and public health sectors. The information base includes data from sociological surveys of Vologda Region population collected during 2018–2024, which provided an opportunity to track the dynamics of respondents’ opinions, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare access and quality are assessed by appropriate indices, which helps to interpret the data using graphical visualization of results in a two-dimensional assessment field. Based on the analysis, we identify the conjugation and dichotomy between the parameters of healthcare access and quality, reflecting common features, as well as significant differences, for various age groups. The practical value and special relevance of the results obtained is due to their correlation with the practices of healthcare commercialization, the division of respondents’ assessments between public and private medical organizations. The novelty of the study consists in testing an alternative methodological approach to assessing healthcare access and quality, identifying age differences and the specifics of elderly patients’ response to changes in healthcare in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Keywords
older adults, healthcare access, healthcare quality, healthcare, public sector, private sector, Vologda Region