Table 2.

Rural primary health care access framework [2]

Dimensions	Operationalized definitions
1. Availability	Relates to the volume and types of services and facilities in relation to the needs of the clients.
2. Geography	Refers to the proximity of health services or providers to clients, and also the ways that clients’ can transcend the distance between their location and that of the services or providers.
3. Affordability	Relates to clients’ ability to pay the overall costs of health care services, including direct and indirect cost of care.
4. Accommodation	Involves the ways PHC resources are organized in relation to the clients’ ability to contact with, gain entry to and navigate the system.
5. Timeliness	Reflects the extent to which care can be sought, offered or received within a time frame and which is optimal to achieve the best health outcomes.
6. Acceptability	Relates to the attitudes and beliefs of consumers about the health care system to the personal and practice characteristics of health care providers.
7. Awareness	Involves sharing information between health services and clients, and also enhancing clients’ knowledge about the health care system.