Introduction:

The right to protection is recognized in the Mexican Constitution, and the current health scheme, the Model of Health Care for Well-Being (MAS-Bienestar). However, there are structural, geographic, and sociocultural challenges that impact the health of indigenous populations living in marginalized, and economically disadvantaged communities.

Objective:

Explore te perceotions and health neds o mothers and community health promoters in Mazahua communities.

Materials and methods:

An exploratory qualitative study was designed based on the development of focus groups of adult women from Villa Victoria, Mexico. The investigation team included trained moderators, facilitators, transcribers and observers. Perceptions were grouped into five dimensions of access based on the Penchansky and Thomas model, adapted to the health field, and then compared with MAS-Bienestar to identify the gap in the reality of participating women.

Results:

Twenty-four Mazahua women participated in this study. When contrasting the dimensions of health, structural, and economic barriers that impede effective access to services, women expressed having lived bad experiences in childbirth and healthcare, demonstrating large gaps between what is expected in the MAS-Bienestar and the reality of women.

Conclusions:

The results show that healthcare providers do not meet their real needs. It is essential to establish community dialogue that allows transform policies and move towards equitable, humane, and culturally relevant health systems.