The aim of this study is to investigate the equity phenomenon, which can be defined as an equal treatment for equal need irrespective of socioeconomic status, in the utilization of health care services in Turkey (for outpatient and in-patient treatment services, separately) in the context of the behavioral model. We have used the "Health Surveys" obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute for 2010, 2012 and 2014. The equity phenomenon and the determinants of the health care utilization are investigated by using the probit model. The findings indicate that the need variable has the largest marginal effect in magnitude for all types of health care. This implies that the health system structure in Turkey is based on need and, therefore, equity exists in the utilization of health care services. We have also found that health insurance has the second largest marginal effect after the need variable. This means that policy makers should focus on enabling factors, especially the coverage of health insurance and the level of income to increase health care utilization of the disadvantaged segments of the population.

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Background: Equity in the use of health care services is an issue which has increasingly been on the health policy agenda over recent years in both middle-and low-income countries. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree and progress of equity in health care utilization in Turkey during 2008-2012. Methods: Wed use data from health surveys (2008, 2010, 2012) conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The concentration index (CI) and the horizontal equity index (HI) were calculated as a measure of equity, and a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis was applied. Results: The general practitioner (GP), specialist and inpatient visits display a pro-poor orientation. Averages of the CI and HI indices for 2008-2012 were 0.74 and-0.17 for GP visits, 0.75 and-0.13 for specialist visits, 0.83 and-0.31 for inpatient visits. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that health care utilization in Turkey appears to have become equitable over the years; however, the sustainability of equity is an issue of concern.

Objective: Appendicitis scoring systems have been developed as a diagnostic tool to improve the decision-making process in patients with suspected appendicitis.The aim of the study was to compare the results of the Alvarado, The Pediatric Appendicitis Score, modified Pediatric Appendicitis Score, Lintula, and Tzanakis scoring systems in childhood appendicitis. We also aimed to see whether our rates of correct diagnosis and negative appendectomy could change, if we had made decisions using the scoring systems. Materials and Methods: The patients who underwent appendectomy because of suspected appendicitis between June 2019 and June 2020 were evaluated prospectively. The patients were divided into appendicitis and non-appendicitis groups according to histopathological findings. The obtained data were used to calculate the scores for the scoring systems and statistical analyses. Results: In the study, 141 patients were included. The negative appendectomy rate was 14.8%. The lowest negative appendectomy rate (6.38%) was obtained with the Lintula scoring system. Tzanakis scoring system had the highest accuracy rate (85.1%) compared to the other scoring systems. Conclusion: The present scoring systems may assist in establishing the diagnosis of appendicitis and reducing negative appendectomy rates. The Lintula scoring system has the lowest negative appendectomy rate due to its higher specificity compared to Alvarado, Pediatric Appendicitis Score, modified Pediatric Appendicitis Score, and Tzanakis scoring systems. Tzanakis scoring system has the highest accuracy rate in the diagnosis of appendicitis, and thus we believe that it may be used as an alternative scoring system for children.

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