Unmet health-care needs: a study based on Turkey health survey (2019)

Reasons such as difficulty in payment, long waiting times, and the distance from health institutions and health-care needs of individuals may not be met. This study aims to determine the prevalence of health needs consisting of medical care, dental care, and prescribed drugs that are not met due to insolvency in Turkey and to evaluate whether features such as gender, age, education status, marital status, employment status, perceived health status, chronic disease status, and health insurance status affect these unmet health needs.

The study data consist of the Turkey Health Survey dataset conducted in 2019 on a sample determined in the Turkish population by the Turkish Statistical Institute.

As a result of the analyzes carried out, it was found that the participants who were under 65 years of age, had a low level of education, had a poor perceived health status, had a chronic disease, were not covered by social security, were married, divorced and widowed had high medical care, dental care and prescribed medication needs that could not be met due to insolvency.

In this context, it is recommended for policymakers to develop policies for individuals in disadvantaged groups.