Universal health coverage in emerging economies: findings on health care utilization by older adults in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and South Africa
Open Access
- 31 October 2014
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Global Health Action
- Vol. 7 (1), 25314
- https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.25314
Abstract
Background and objective: The achievement of universal health coverage (UHC) in emerging economies is a high priority within the global community. This timely study uses standardized national population data collected from adults aged 50 and older in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and South Africa. The objective is to describe health care utilization and measure association between inpatient and outpatient service use and patient characteristics in these six low-and middle-income countries. Design: Secondary analysis of data from the World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health Wave 1 was undertaken. Country samples are compared by socio-demographic characteristics, type of health care, and reasons for use. Logistic regressions describe association between socio-demographic and health factors and inpatient and outpatient service use. Results: In the pooled multi-country sample of over 26,000 adults aged 50-plus, who reported getting health care the last time it was needed, almost 80% of men and women received inpatient or outpatient care, or both. Roughly 30% of men and women in the Russian Federation used inpatient services in the previous 3 years and 90% of men and women in India used outpatient services in the past year. In China, public hospitals were the most frequently used service type for 52% of men and 51% of women. Multivariable regression showed that, compared with men, women were less likely to use inpatient services and more likely to use outpatient services. Respondents with two or more chronic conditions were almost three times as likely to use inpatient services and twice as likely to use outpatient services compared with respondents with no reported chronic conditions. Conclusions: This study provides a basis for further investigation of country-specific responses to UHC.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prevalence of Hypertension in China: A Cross-Sectional StudyPLOS ONE, 2013
- The influence of socio-economic status and multimorbidity patterns on healthcare costs: a six-year follow-up under a universal healthcare systemInternational Journal for Equity in Health, 2013
- Factors influencing attendance in a structured physical activity program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in an urban setting: a mixed methods process evaluationInternational Journal for Equity in Health, 2013
- Equity in the delivery of community healthcare to older people: findings from 10/66 Dementia Research Group cross-sectional surveys in Latin America, China, India and NigeriaBMC Health Services Research, 2011
- Is computer aided detection (CAD) cost effective in screening mammography? A model based on the CADET II studyBMC Health Services Research, 2011
- The Rural-Urban Divide: Health Services Utilization Among Older Mexicans in MexicoThe Journal of Rural Health, 2010
- Prevalence of Diabetes among Men and Women in ChinaNew England Journal of Medicine, 2010
- Health insurance for the poor: impact on catastrophic and out-of-pocket health expenditures in MexicoThe European Journal of Health Economics, 2009
- Health financing for the poor produces promising short-term effects on utilization and out-of-pocket expenditure: evidence from VietnamInternational Journal for Equity in Health, 2009
- School-related mediators in social inequalities in smoking: a comparative cross-sectional study of 20,399 adolescents.International Journal for Equity in Health, 2009