Health care utilization among persons who are unemployed or outside the labour force

Care or Not Care—that is the Question: Predictors of Healthcare Utilisation in Relation to Employment Status

“…According to our previous results, costs for healthcare may be a possible prohibitive factor for seeking care for persons who are unemployed or on long-term sick leave [9]. There is also evidence to suggest that there are inequities in healthcare use and unmet care needs to the disadvantage of lowincome groups in Sweden [17].…”

“…Unmet care needs may signal that it is important to assist the unemployed in improving their health, in order to increase their chances of reemployment. Our previous study of unemployed persons of workable ages indicates that being unemployed is associated with abstaining from contacting a physician despite perceiving a need for care [9]. The unemployed, as compared to the employed, were more likely to report that lower costs for healthcare services could facilitate healthcare contact.…”

Health in the Long-Term Unemployed

“…Unemployed individuals seek health care less frequently, although they do require it; this effect remains even when results are adjusted for sociodemographic variables, social support, and personal finances (37).…”

Out-of-Pocket Payments and Subjective Unmet Need of Healthcare

“…For both, the overall economic situation of the patients is crucially important. Å hs and Westerling [47] showed that the problem of SUN in Sweden is particularly bad for the unemployed (worse than for those on long-term sick leave) and relate this to the psychological problems associated with unemployment. Other studies have emphasized the importance of the neighbourhood in which people are living, focusing on the level of social capital [48,49], or point to the specific situation of the homeless [31,33].…”