Methodological research should enable our field to
develop the measurement instruments that will better
capture the complexity of access. Adding to the complexity
is the fact that various sources of information
can inform the varied dimensions of access, but it can
be difficult to merge together to draw a complete picture
of access. Mixed method analyses of consumer surveys,
quality of care data, epidemiological surveys of utilisation,
as well as organisational surveys may be necessary.
In addition, there is a need for more research examining
the variability of access from both supply and
demand-sides and looking at the influence of local
health systems and patients’ characteristics. Empirical
studies using the framework could also test the relevance
of each dimension in different contexts and for different
types of health problems and thus assess how the five