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Waiting time and socioeconomic status--an individual-level analysis
Karin Monstad1, Lars Birger Engesaeter, Birgitte Espehaug
1Uni Rokkan Centre, Uni Research, Bergen, Norway.
Health Economics
|April 24, 2013
Summary
Healthcare waiting times reveal socioeconomic disparities. Higher income men and more educated women experience shorter waits, indicating potential inequities in publicly funded systems.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Public Health
- Health Economics
Background:
- Waiting time is a key rationing mechanism in publicly funded healthcare.
- While preferred over co-payments for equity, long waiting times signal service quality issues.
- Previous research lacked individual-level data to explore socioeconomic impacts on waiting times.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between waiting time, income, and education using individual-level data.
- To identify socioeconomic disparities in healthcare access and quality.
- To analyze the influence of patient need indicators on waiting times.
Main Methods:
- Utilized individual-level data from administrative registers.
- Incorporated an extensive set of medical information as indicators of patient need.
- Performed statistical analysis to detect differences in waiting times based on socioeconomic status.
Main Results:
- Detected statistically significant differences in waiting times correlated with socioeconomic status.
- Identified a negative association between income and waiting time for men, particularly in the highest income bracket.
- Found that more educated women experienced shorter waiting times compared to less educated women.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare waiting times are not equitable across socioeconomic strata.
- Income and education levels are significant factors influencing patient waiting experiences.
- Findings highlight potential inequities in publicly funded healthcare systems that warrant further investigation.
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