Methods for measuring horizontal equity in health resource allocation: a comparative study

Abstract

ᅟThere are many existing methodologies on measuring health equity, while seldom has method aiming at health resource allocation. We collected 6 method of measuring equity in health resource allocation. This paper presents key contents of methods on measuring horizontal equity in health service allocation, yet each method has its advantages and disadvantages as well as range of application, which may help researchers or government to make wise decision when choosing appropriate method for measuring equity. Through comparative analysis, we concluded that socioeconomic factors were considered in concentration index; although the Lorenz curve and Gini-coefficient are widely used, which exist uncertainty and incompleteness; overall inequality can be decomposed by Theil index, which is of significance for the planning of urban and rural areas; preferences on a certain class can be set artificially by Atkinson index; it is easy for Chi-square to analyze aided with statistical software; specific regional differences can be calculated by index of dissimilarity.Classification codesI1Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13561-014-0010-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Measuring inequalities in the demographical and geographical distribution of physicians in China: Generalist versus specialist

“…Gini coefficient is originally used for measuring income inequality in economic literature . It has been widely adopted by health care researchers to explore the inequalities in health care resource allocation in recent decades . Gini coefficient is derived from Lorenz curve .…”

“…It has been widely adopted by health care researchers to explore the inequalities in health care resource allocation in recent decades . Gini coefficient is derived from Lorenz curve . In a Lorenz curve, the x ‐axis indicates the cumulative share of population or geographical area, and the y ‐axis represents the cumulative share of physicians.…”

“…It ranges from 0 to 1. Usually, a Gini coefficient <0.2 indicates absolute equality, 0.2 to 0.3 relative equality, 0.3 to 0.4 proper inequality, 0.4 to 0.5 large inequality, and above 0.5 represents severe inequality . I adopted the following formula to calculate Gini coefficient in the present study.…”

Geographic Variations in Stroke Inpatient Healthcare Utilization and Hospital Expenditure Equity in China

“…The Theil index is a relative indicator measure of economic and other types o nequality [24].The advantage of the Theil index is that it can calculate the contribution of intra-group and inter-group inequities to total inequities, thus avoiding the calculation of absolute values. The Theil index rangesbetween 0 and 1, where smaller values point to more equitable distribution of some economic phenomena, such as income, across a population [25].While originally used to measure inequalities in economic data, the Theil index is increasing used to evaluate (in)equities in health services, including healthcare utilization and health service expenses.…”

Equity and efficiency of health resource allocation of Chinese Medicine in mainland China: 2013 to 2017

“…The Theil index can be divided into intra-group (T intra-group ) and inter-group (T intergroup ) [16]. The formula of them were presented as follows:…”