Crisis económica y salud: lecciones aprendidas y recomendaciones para el futuro

Abstract


 La reciente crisis económica vivida en España, pese al sufrimiento y pérdida de bienestar ocasionadas, no parece haber afectado de una manera severa, al menos a corto plazo, a la mortalidad y la salud autopercibida de la población general. No obstante, sí se ha producido un impacto negativo sobre la salud mental, especialmente entre los varones. Asimismo, hay grupos vulnerables de población cuya salud ha empeorado durante este periodo, intensificándose las desigualdades sociales en la misma. Dada la alarmante evolución observada en los indicadores sociales de desigualdad de rentas y tasas de pobreza y riesgo de exclusión social, conviene ser cautos con los resultados identificados en el corto plazo y vigilantes sobre la evolución de la salud de la población en el medio y largo plazo, a la vez que se extraen las conclusiones oportunas sobre las políticas e intervenciones a implementar en futuras situaciones de crisis.

Changes in income-related inequalities in cervical cancer screening during the Spanish economic crisis: a decomposition analysis

“…Our results show that income-related inequalities in cervical screening, which favor the better-off, significantly grew up from 2006-07 to 2011–12. This goes in line with some previous studies showing that Spanish pro-rich inequities in access to specialist doctors were intensified over the economic crisis [37, 38], and also pro-rich inequalities in some other screening tests [36]. However, our results indicate as well that the prevalence of cytology testing in Spain increased during the period 2006–2012, which is consistent with previous findings [30].…”

“…It has to be noticed that high waiting times were the main reason to declare unmet needs during the crisis, according to the Spanish National Health Surveys [ 34 , 35 ]. Also, a recent study has been shown how pro-rich inequities in unmet needs increased in Spain along the economic crisis, as well as pro-rich inequities in access to screening tests such as mammography [ 36 ]. Some other studies have also identified an increase in pro-rich inequity related to publicly financed visits to specialists [ 37 , 38 ].…”

Do primary and secondary care doctors have a different experience and perception of cross-level clinical coordination? Results of a cross-sectional study in the Catalan National Health System (Spain)

“…In terms of accessibility between levels of care, as anticipated and in line with the evidence [ 20 , 42 ], waiting times for referrals to SC (urgent and standard) were reported to be too long, especially by PC doctors. Long waiting times between levels have implications for quality of care and adequate follow-up by PC doctors [ 43 , 44 ]. Interestingly enough, while a high proportion of PC doctors reported acceptable waiting times on the patient’s return to PC, half of the SC doctors did not know how long waiting times were for this transition, demonstrating a lack of interest that contradicts expectations for coordinated care provision.…”

The Effect of the Economic Crisis on Adolescents’ Perceived Health and Risk Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis

“…Despite these limitations, this study presents a new effort to better capture the effect of the economic crisis on adolescents' health, life satisfaction, and risk behaviors, pointing out the importance of the family socioeconomic position and parental/peer relationships. Childhood is of particular interest for public policies, because of its special vulnerability and because the consequences of childhood deprivation may be perdurable throughout life [52]. The effects of the crises depend to a large extent on social protection policies, on the safety net of the Welfare State, and on the structuring of social and family networks [1].…”