Addressing the particular challenges of patients living in rural and remote areas and for disadvantaged groups: skill-mix innovations to improve access and quality of care

The 2018 Declaration of Astana on Primary Health Care strengthens the importance of access to services (World Health Organization, 2018a). In the EU, the Council of Health Ministers had agreed in 2006 that “Equity relates to equal access according to need, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, social status or ability to pay” (Council of the European Union, 2006). However, according to the data from the European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions, in many countries up to 19% of the population report unmet needs for health care (EXPH, 2017).