Disparities in the quality of care for adults with type 2 diabetes according to socioeconomic level and ethnicity in Mexico.

Background: The quality and equitable accessibility of health services represent basic priorities for health systems. In Mexico, three quarters of patients with diabetes are treated at public health services shown to be heterogeneous as regards the quality of the health-care processes. This notwithstanding, no information has been published on the quality of care provided to patients with diabetes according to their socioeconomic characteristics and ethnicity. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify disparities in the quality of care provided to adults medically diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to their socioeconomic levels and ethnicity.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis based on data drawn from the 2018-19 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Quality of care was assessed from the patients' perspective. Analysis included a nationally representative sample of 4,555 adults aged ≥20 years, with a diagnosis of diabetes, and a subsample of 1,586 adults with Hb1Ac measurements. Two multiple linear regression models were fitted to assess the relationship between the overall quality of care provided vs. the socioeconomic levels and ethnicity of patients, adjusted for covariates.

Results: Nearly one third of adults with diabetes belonged to low socioeconomic levels, 7% were indigenous, 92% were ≥40 years old, and 50% had experienced diabetes-related complications. Respondents had been diagnosed with diabetes for 11 years on average. Patients of low socioeconomic levels showed a higher frequency of complications and inadequate glycemic control than did those of higher levels. After adjusting for covariates, the quality of care received was poorer among T2D patients of low (-4.8 pp, 95% CI: -6.5, -3.0) and medium (-1.5 pp, 95% CI: -3.1,0.1) socioeconomic levels compared to those in the high tier, and among indigenous (-2.7 pp, 95% CI -5.3, -0.1) vs. non-indigenous individuals.

Conclusions: Overall, adults with diabetes receive poor-quality health care. Furthermore, disparities exist by socioeconomic level and ethnicity in the quality of care provided. It is essential to strengthen and renew health-care policies with a view to improving outpatient care for individuals with diabetes, one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in Mexico and around the world. It is vital that efforts to ensure the health and well-being of the most socially vulnerable populations be rooted in an equity approach.