Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33985518›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2021

Trends and equity in the use of health services in Spain and Germany around austerity in Europe.

Almudena Moreno, Lourdes Lostao, Johannes Beller, Stefanie Sperlich, Elena Ronda, Siegfried Geyer, José Pulido, Enrique Regidor

Abstract read
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Article in International journal for equity in health, 2021. 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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.

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4 · The record

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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

8 authors.

Almudena MorenoDepartment of Sociology, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain. amorenolostao@hotmail.com.
Lourdes LostaoDepartment of Sociology, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain.
Johannes BellerMedical Sociology Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Stefanie SperlichMedical Sociology Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Elena RondaPreventive Medicine and Public Health Unit, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
Siegfried GeyerMedical Sociology Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
José PulidoCIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
Enrique RegidorCIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFollowing the 2008 economic crisis many countries implemented austerity policies, including reducing public spending on health services. This paper evaluates the trends and equity in the use of health services during and after that period in Spain - a country with austerity policies - and in Germany - a country without restriction on healthcare spending.

methodsData from several National Surveys in Spain and several waves of the Socio-Economic Panel in Germany, carried out between 2009 and 2017, were used. The dependent variables were number of doctor's consultations and whether or not a hospital admission occurred. The measure of socioeconomic position was education. In each year, the estimates were made for people with and without pre-existing health problems. First, the average number of doctor's consultations and the percentage of respondents who had had been hospitalized were calculated. Second, the relationship between education and use of those health services was estimated by calculating the difference in consultations using covariance analysis - in the case of number of consultations - and by calculating the percentage ratio using binomial regression - in the case of hospitalization.

resultsThe annual mean number of consultations went down in both countries. In Spain the average was 14.2 in 2009 and 10.4 in 2017 for patients with chronic conditions; 16.6 and 13.5 for those with a mental illness; and 6.4 and 5.9 for those without a defined illness. In Germany, the averages were 13.8 (2009) and 12.9 (2017) for the chronic group; 21.1 and 17.0 for mental illness; and 8.7 and 7.5 with no defined illness. The hospitalization frequency also decreased in both countries. The majority of the analyses presented no significant differences in relation to education.

conclusionIn both Spain and Germany, service use decreased between 2009 and 2017. In the first few years, this reduction coincided with a period of austerity in Spain. In general, we did not find socioeconomic differences in health service use.

Indexed as

Economic RecessionHealthcare DisparitiesEuropeGermanyHealth EquityHealth ServicesHumansSocioeconomic FactorsSpainAusterityEducationEquityGermanyHospitalizationPhysician visitsSpain

Identifiers

PMID33985518
PMCPMC8117640

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