Sociodemographic and socioeconomic determinants of health services utilization in Greece: the Hellas Health I study

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to estimate the demographic and socioeconomic determinants of utilization of the Greek primary and hospital health care services. Data were obtained from the cross-sectional nationwide household survey Hellas Health I (2006). The sample (N = 1005) was representative of the Greek adult population in terms of age and residency, and was selected by means of a three-stage, proportional-to-size sampling design. The presence of a family doctor was reported in a higher degree by participants of higher social classes and private insurance. After adjusting for self-perceived general health and chronic illness, contacts with health care professionals during the past four weeks were found less for residents of rural areas, while contacts with health care professionals during the past 12 months were found less for men than women, for individuals without private insurance and for individuals of lower education. More out-of-pocket payments were reported by the 34-44 age group, rural area residents and individuals with private insurance. Higher use of private health care services was reported by participants of higher social classes and residents of rural areas and private insurance. Only hospital admissions were not directly influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors. The findings imply the existence of inequities in access and use of primary health services with clear implications to related policies.

Do private hospitals outperform public hospitals regarding efficiency, accessibility, and quality of care in the European Union? A literature review

“…One other study concludes that patients in private hospitals diagnosed with prostate cancer come from the more affluent regions . In Greece, monthly family income is positively related to private hospital admissions . In addition, both patients with private health insurance and rural residents are more likely to use private care services .…”

Investigating Unmet Health Needs in Primary Health Care Services in a Representative Sample of the Greek Population

“…The attempt in 2012 to merge the four biggest insurance funds into one (EOPYY-National Organization for Health Care) has not yet solved the organizational, financial and provision issues. Greek people have faced unequal access to standard services due to entitlement, geography and ability to pay [19]. The gap in the inconsistencies of the public health sector is covered by the overdeveloped private sector and people’s ability to pay.…”

“…In Greece, access to health services has been investigated based on the conventional need-adjusted utilization model [18,19,20,21] and the use of unmet health care needs, as an indicator of equitable access to health services, has been studied in the context of two European surveys [22,23]. The current study is the first single survey in Greece which attempts to investigate access to health care with respect to unmet needs.…”

Secondary Surge Capacity: A Framework for Understanding Long-Term Access to Primary Care for Medically Vulnerable Populations in Disaster Recovery

“…Utilization of health services is likely influenced by demand and supply-side issues within the delivery system (i.e., system resource and organization) and the corresponding individual (e.g., unmet need) and community characteristics (e.g., provider supply) of the residents who rely on it. 32-44 We suggest contextual individual and community-level variables that act separately and jointly to influence health disparities for vulnerable populations pre- and post-disaster.…”