Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29374481›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2018

Use of health services according to income before and after elimination of copayment in Germany and restriction of universal health coverage in Spain.

Lourdes Lostao, Siegfried Geyer, Romana Albaladejo, Almudena Moreno-Lostao, Elena Ronda, Enrique Regidor

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Lourdes LostaoDepartment of Medical Sociology, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. llostao@unavarra.es.
Siegfried GeyerMedical Sociology Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Romana AlbaladejoDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Almudena Moreno-LostaoUniversidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Elena RondaDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
Enrique RegidorDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid · ESMedizinische Hochschule Hannover · DEUniversidad de Navarra · ESUniversidad Publica de Navarra · ESUniversity of Alicante · ES

Funding

Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación CSO2013-40877-P
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn Germany copayment for medical consultation was eliminated in 2013, and in Spain universal health coverage was partly restricted in 2012. This study shows the relationship between income and the use of health services before and after these measures in each country.

methodsData were taken from the 2009 and 2014 Socio-Economic Panel conducted in Germany, and from the 2009 and 2014 European Health Surveys in Spain. The health services investigated were physician consultations and hospital admissions, and the measure of socioeconomic position used was household income. The magnitude of the relationship between socioeconomic position and the use of each health service in people from 16 to 74 years old was estimated by calculating the percentage ratio using binary regression.

resultsIn Germany, after adjusting for age, sex, and need for care, in the model comparing the two lower income categories to the two higher categories, the percentage ratio for physician consultation was 0.97 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) in 2009 and 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.99) in 2014, and the percentage ratio for hospitalization was 1.01 (95% CI 0.93-1.10) in 2009 and 1.16 (95% CI 1.08-1.25) in 2014. In Spain, after adjusting for age, sex, and self-rated health, the percentage ratio for physician consultation was 0.99 (95% CI 0.94-1.05) in 2009 and 1.08 (95% CI 1.03-1.14) in 2014, and the percentage ratio for hospitalization was 1.04 (95% CI 0.92-1.18) in 2009 and 0.99 (95% CI 0.87-1.14) in 2014.

conclusionThe results suggest that elimination of the copayment in Germany did not change the frequency of physician consultations, whereas after the restriction of universal health coverage in Spain, subjects with lower incomes had a higher frequency of physician consultations.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedFemaleGermanyHealth ExpendituresHealth ServicesHealth Services AccessibilityHumansIncomeMaleMiddle AgedSocioeconomic FactorsSpainSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversal Health InsuranceCopaymentGermanyGreat recessionIncome positionInequalitiesSpainUse of health services

Identifiers

PMID29374481
PMCPMC5787305
OpenAlexW2794777401

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.