Health Disparities in Czechia and Portugal at Country and Municipality Levels

Abstract

This article investigates the health outcomes and determinants between two different European populations, Portuguese and Czech, on two hierarchical levels: country and metropolitan area. At first, the decomposition method of age and cause of death were compared on the country level, and then health was examined based on a factor analysis at the municipality level of Prague and Lisbon. The results clearly indicate problematic diabetes mortality among the Portuguese population, and especially in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, and confirm the dominant role of circulatory mortality and cancer mortality among Czech, especially the Prague population. The social and economic deprivations were revealed as the major drivers for both metropolitan areas, although with differences between them, requiring interventions that go beyond the health sector.

The Association between Material Deprivation and Avoidable Mortality in Lisbon, Portugal

“…This part of the city is generally characterised by a high proportion of elderly residents and migrants living in old and degraded housing, along with other vulnerable population groups affected by poor social and economic conditions [ 31 , 42 ]. Previous studies revealed that social and economic deprivation are the major drivers for Lisbon’s health inequalities, requiring interventions that go beyond the health sector [ 18 ]. Thus, previous research identified considerable geographical inequalities between the more advantaged and deprived civil parishes in Lisbon: along the 8 km distance of the Metro’s Blue Line, there is a 6-year difference in average life expectancy [ 51 ].…”

“…There is considerable evidence pointing to the existence of a marked geographical and socioeconomic gradient in mortality in urban areas [ 18 ], namely between municipalities in the same region or metropolitan area [ 12 , 19 ] and even at the smaller area level [ 9 , 20 , 21 ]. Thus, the small area level is considered the most favourable geographical scale for avoiding the ecological bias created by heterogeneity within the area, and for detecting spatial mortality trends that may not be apparent in larger geographical areas.…”

¿De qué murieron los adultos mayores en el Ecuador entre 1990 y 2014? Un análisis mediante un estudio ecológico exploratorio de las tasas específicas de mortalidad en la adultez posterior y senectud por causas evitables según regiones naturales. - What did older adults die from in Ecuador between 1990 and 2014? An analysis of mortality rates in later adulthood and senescence from preventable causes according to natural regions.

“…En Argentina, en las provincias con niveles de previsión social fragmentada, los patrones de mortalidad fueron más altos 30 . Algo similar se observó en las zonas metropolitanas de Chequia y Portugal, en donde las mejores condiciones comunitarias de vida, así como las condiciones familiares e individuales, fueron clave en la reducción de la mortalidad 31 .…”

Health and GIS: The present situation and future options in the Czech Republic

“…Příkladem jsou práce zaměřené na západonilskou horečku (5), chřipku (6) a další. Vliv prostředí je předmětem geografických studií (7), kdy GIS jsou využívány jako prostředí pro integraci prostorových dat s daty o zdravotním stavu sledované populace (8).…”