COVID-19 and Unmet Healthcare Needs of Older People: Did Inequity Arise in Europe?

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dc.contributor.authorGonzález Touya, Marta
dc.contributor.authorStoyanova, Alexandrina
dc.contributor.authorUrbanos Garrido, Rosa M.
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-17T08:30:15Z
dc.date.available2023-06-17T08:30:15Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractBackground: The disruption in healthcare provision due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced many non-urgent medical treatments and appointments to be postponed or denied, which is expected to have huge impact on non-acute health conditions, especially in vulnerable populations such as older people. Attention should be paid to equity issues related to unmet needs during the pandemic. Methods: We calculated concentration indices to identify income-related inequalities and horizontal inequity in unmet needs due to postponed and denied healthcare in people over 50 during COVID-19, using data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Results: Very few countries show significant income-related inequalities in postponed, rescheduled or denied treatments and medical appointments, usually favouring the rich. Only Estonia, Italy and Romania show a significant horizontal inequity (HI) in postponed healthcare, which apparently favours the poor. Significant pro-rich inequity in denied healthcare is found in Italy, Poland and Greece. Conclusions: Although important income-related horizontal inequity in unmet needs of European older adults during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic is not evident for most countries, some of them have to carefully monitor barriers to healthcare access. Delays in diagnosis and treatments may ultimately translate into adverse health outcomes, reduced quality of life and, even, widen socio-economic health inequalities among older people.
dc.description.departmentDepto. de Economía Aplicada, Pública y Política
dc.description.facultyFac. de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales
dc.description.refereedTRUE
dc.description.sponsorshipUnión Europea. FP7
dc.description.sponsorshipMinisterio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO)
dc.description.sponsorshipMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)
dc.description.sponsorshipGeneralitat de Catalunya
dc.description.statuspub
dc.eprint.idhttps://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/75819
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ijerph18179177
dc.identifier.issn1660-4601
dc.identifier.officialurlhttps://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179177
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/7309
dc.issue.number17
dc.journal.titleInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
dc.language.isoeng
dc.page.final15
dc.page.initial1
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.relation.projectIDSHARE-PREP (211909); SHARE-LEAP (227822); SHARE M4 (261982).
dc.relation.projectIDECO2017–83771-C3–1-R, Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, 2017
dc.relation.projectIDPID2020-114040RB-I00
dc.relation.projectID2020PANDE00060
dc.rightsAtribución 3.0 España
dc.rights.accessRightsopen access
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
dc.subject.keywordUnmet needs
dc.subject.keywordCOVID-19
dc.subject.keywordSHARE survey
dc.subject.keywordInequalities
dc.subject.keywordHorizontal inequity.
dc.subject.ucmSalud pública (Medicina)
dc.subject.ucmEconomía pública
dc.subject.unesco3212 Salud Pública
dc.titleCOVID-19 and Unmet Healthcare Needs of Older People: Did Inequity Arise in Europe?
dc.typejournal article
dc.volume.number18
dspace.entity.typePublication
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