Did the Covid-19 pandemic reshape equity in healthcare use in Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID8018820
AuthorsLouis Arnault (0000-0002-0754-3599, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, corresponding author), Florence Jusot (Institut de Recherche et de Documentation en Économie de la Santé), Thomas Renaud (0000-0002-4895-6090, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL)
Year2024
Volume358
Pages117194-117194
Publication date2024-08-06
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117194
PMID39216135
OpenAlexW4401371621
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited16

Promoting equity in healthcare use requires to respect both principles of horizontal equity, that guarantees everyone the same use of healthcare for a given level of need, and vertical equity, that requires the sickest to receive more care than others, in a proportion deemed appropriate. This study explores the extent to which horizontal and vertical equity in healthcare use among individuals aged 50+ in Europe has been restructured during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the variance as an inequality measure, we assess horizontal equity in healthcare use based on the fairness gap approach and propose two new measures of vertical equity. The sample includes 24,965 respondents of the SHARE survey from 18 European countries, who participated in wave 8 just before the pandemic and the second SHARE Corona survey in 2021. These data provide information on use of physician and hospital care over the year for each period, as well as on a wide range of health and socio-economic variables. Although pro-rich inequities in healthcare use were observed in some countries before the outbreak, our results do not reveal any significant evolution in horizontal equity during the pandemic. Conversely, vertical equity in healthcare use would have significantly declined in most countries, especially in Central or Eastern Europe. Telemedicine appears to have played a protective role against this decline in vertical equity in countries where it was heavily used during the pandemic. Our results support the case for public policies aimed at restoring access to care for individuals with the highest needs

Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Demographic economics · Disease · Economic growth · Economics · Equity (law · Geography · Health care · Health equity · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Pandemic · Political science · Global Health Care Issues · Healthcare Policy and Management · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Medicine

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