Socioeconomic determinants of prescribed and non-prescribed medicine consumption in Austria

Mayer, Susanne; Österle, August

doi:10.1093/eurpub/cku179

Cited by 38 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This is consistent with data showing a higher prevalence of multimorbidity in the most deprived population, among which multimorbidity would occur on average 10 to 15 years earlier [3]. However, as this association didn't disappear after adjustment for the number of comorbidities, we can hypothesize additional explanations for this finding: deprived patients may have lower income and/or education, which has been associated with polypharmacy [10,13,49]; they may also more likely consult with a prescription purpose, as suggested previously [49].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Aubert¹,

Streit²,

Costa³

et al. 2016

European Journal of Internal Medicine

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Aubert¹,

Streit²,

Costa³

et al. 2016

European Journal of Internal Medicine

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“…[ 22 – 24 ]) and has focused on access to general practitioners (GPs) or specialists [ 25 ], on access to specific treatments [ 26 ], but less on access to hospital care. Existing studies on inequalities in medicine consumption focus on single countries [ 27 ] or even regions within countries [ 28 ], on specific medicines [ 29 ] or specific groups of the population [ 30 ], while there is very little cross-country evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in medicines consumption.…”

Section: Addressing Inequalities In Medicine Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in medicine use in Central Eastern Europe: an empirical investigation of socioeconomic determinants in eight countries

Vogler

Österle

Mayer

2015

Int J Equity Health

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BackgroundEquitable access to essential medicines is a major challenge for policy-makers world-wide, including Central and Eastern European countries. Member States of the European Union situated in Central and Eastern Europe have publicly funded pharmaceutical reimbursement systems that should promote accessibility and affordability of, at least essential medicines. However, there is no knowledge whether socioeconomic inequalities exist in these countries. Against this backdrop, this study analyses whether socioeconomic determinants influence the use of prescribed and non-prescribed medicines in eight Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia). Further, the study discusses observed (in)equalities in medicine use in the context of the pharmaceutical policy framework and the implementation in these countries.MethodsThe study is based on cross-sectional data from the first wave of the European Health Interview Survey (2007–2009). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine the association between socioeconomic status (measured by employment status, education, income; controlled for age, gender, health status) and medicine use (prescribed and non-prescribed medicines). This was supplemented by a pharmaceutical policy analysis based on indicators in four policy dimensions (sustainable funding, affordability, availability and accessibility, and rational selection and use of medicines).ResultsOverall, the analysis showed a gradient favouring individuals from higher socioeconomic groups in the consumption of non-prescribed medicines in the eight surveyed countries, and for prescribed medicines in three countries (Latvia, Poland, Romania). The pharmaceutical systems in the eight countries were, to varying degrees, characterized by a lack of (public) funding, thus resulting in high and growing shares of private financing (including co-payments for prescribed medicines), inefficiencies in the selection of medicines into reimbursement and limitations in medicines availability.ConclusionPharmaceutical policies aiming at reducing inequalities in medicine use require not only a consideration of the role of co-payments and other private expenditure but also adequate investment in medicines and transparent and clear processes regarding the inclusion of medicines into reimbursement.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0261-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Among them, there are socio-economic, lifestyle, ease of access to medication, increased patient's potential to manage certain illnesses through self-care, public health [14] and environmental factors, [15] greater availability of medicinal products as well as demographic and epidemiological factors. [1,16,17] Changes in our society such as improved educational level, greater access to information (mainly Internet access), combined with greater interest in our own personal health, facilitate direct participation in the individuals' healthcare decisions. [18] Resorting to self-medication does not necessarily exclude the use of prescription medicines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with self-medication in Spain: a cross-sectional study in different age groups

Niclós

Olivar

Rodilla

2017

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

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Socioeconomic determinants of prescribed and non-prescribed medicine consumption in Austria

Abstract: These results point to different behavioural responses to ill health, not least determined by institutional incentives in the Austrian health care system.

Cited by 38 publications

References 27 publications

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Inequalities in medicine use in Central Eastern Europe: an empirical investigation of socioeconomic determinants in eight countries

Factors associated with self-medication in Spain: a cross-sectional study in different age groups

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