Public Opinion on Healthcare in the Context of Economic Crisis: Evidence from Portugal

Abstract

This article investigates to what extent austerity-oriented measures introduced in the Portuguese health sector during the recent economic crisis were associated with changes in the public opinion on healthcare. We conducted multivariate regression analyses of cross-sectional, biannual data from the European Social Survey (2002–2015) for 13,271 individuals living in private households in Portugal. In line with our expectations, healthcare evaluations of the general population improved until 2010 but declined with the implementation of comprehensive austerity measures introduced under the Memorandum of Understanding after 2011. Healthcare evaluations of vulnerable social groups – older and retired individuals, individuals with poor health, low income and education – declined particularly strongly. In addition, differences in healthcare evaluations between more and less vulnerable social groups were more pronounced after 2011. Interestingly, healthcare evaluations of the general population and of some of the most vulnerable groups ‘recovered’ in 2015, when most of the Memorandum measures were implemented. Our findings contribute to the literature on the effects of austerity measures on welfare attitudes and stress the need to analyse the differential impact of crisis-induced welfare state reforms across social groups.

Do Canadians Support Tailored and Targeted Public Health Programs? A Discrete Choice Experiment

“…24,26,32 We also observed that participants were more likely to select programs focused on treatment as opposed to prevention. The existing literature on this issue has been mixed, with data from the Swiss Household Panel Survey suggesting that the majority of citizens support preventative interventions over treatment-based ones 33 while other discrete choice experiments have shown a preference for treatments of more severe illness over less severe illness. 34 Our ndings support the latter, showing that participants in Canada prioritize treatment over prevention -a noteworthy nding given that Canada has a public medicare system that itself focuses on treatment (albeit without universal prescription drug coverage) over prevention.…”

The Political Legitimacy of the Healthcare System in Portugal: Insights from the European Social Survey

“…This benefit no longer happens today, and the public subsystem is now fully financed by its beneficiaries [47]. From a macro perspective, the health system is delivered by a mix of public and private health care providers generating inequality, in which specific better-off social groups enjoy better access and conditions of care, while low-income families such as the unemployed, the old, the poor and the disabled do not have equal access to health care [7].…”

“…The challenges that national health systems face today are mostly performance-related. While support for the public health system remains universally high and stable in Portugal, political disaffection is increasing, especially since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008 [ 7 ]. So, how can we account for the Portuguese trend in satisfaction with the health system?…”

“…The study of popular support to healthcare has long been a critical feature of the welfare states and has increasingly become the subject matter of empirical research on opinions, values, and attitudes [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The empirical literature provides ample evidence that public health has always been welcomed and supported, showing a recurrent pattern of popularity across nations, even in periods of welfare state retrenchment [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. These differences raise the question of what makes individuals be satisfied with the health care system over time?…”

Do Canadians Support Tailored And Targeted Public Health Programs? A Discrete Choice Experiment

“…24,26,32 We also observed that participants were more likely to select programs focused on treatment as opposed to prevention. The existing literature on this issue has been mixed, with data from the Swiss Household Panel Survey suggesting that the majority of citizens support preventative interventions over treatment-based ones 33 while other discrete choice experiments have shown a preference for treatments of more severe illness over less severe illness. 34 Our ndings support the latter, showing that participants in Canada prioritize treatment over prevention -a noteworthy nding given that Canada has a public medicare system that itself focuses on treatment (albeit without universal prescription drug coverage) over prevention.…”