DE SANTIS MARIANA OLGA
Congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Inequity and inequality in preventive health care among older adults in Argentina in 2000
Lugar:
Gottingen y Merseburg
Reunión:
Seminario; Arno X; 2011
Institución organizadora:
Universidad de Gottingen y Universidad de Merseburg
Resumen:
The goal of this study is to determine the inequity and inequality of preventive health care provided to older adults in Argentina and other South American countries. To address these issues, the following preventive care tests, Papanicolaou test (Pap smears), mammograms and prostate preventive examinations, were analyzed among adults 60 year-old and older in Argentina in 1999-2000. Equations of utilization were estimated and traditional and extended concentration indices were computed from data from the Health, Wellbeing and Aging Survey in Buenos Aires and another South American cities in 1999-2000. The sample group was comprised of more than 1000 observations in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina and more than 4000 in the most important cities in neighboring countries. The probability of having conducted a Pap smear, mammogram and prostate preventive examination was estimated in adults 60 year-old and older . The results indicated that the use of preventive health care was positively associated with possessing health care insurance, having suffered from chronic diseases or cancer and having higher levels of education. These findings correlate with the presence of horizontal inequity, that is different amounts of health care utilization among individuals with the same needs explained by systematic differences in the characteristics of the respondents. In addition, education and per capita household income-based concentration indices (CI) were also computed. Extended CI incorporates society aversion to inequality through higher weights to less favored individuals. With regard to the differences in the use attributed to socio-economic factors, results indicated a bias in favor of individuals more educated and belonging to households with higher per capita incomes. This conclusion was based on analysis of traditional CI as well as those that incorporated different degrees of aversion to inequality. Therefore, as the weight of less socioeconomically advantaged individuals increases, average use of pap smear test and prostate preventive examination is reduced. Also, education-based CIs for Argentina when compared to those of Brazil, Chile and Uruguay showed that the inequality in the use of the preventive health services by older people in Argentina was higher than in neighboring countries. Based on these findings it is concluded that the cost of conducting preventive examinations among older adults without health insurance should be made more affordable in order to reduce inequity and inequality. The results of the study also suggest the importance to strengthen education as a crucial variable in the use of preventive health care services on the part of older adults. Key Terms: inequality, inequity, older adults