Reasons for unmet needs for health care: the role of social capital and social support in some Western EU countries

Damiano Fiorillo ()

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: This paper focuses on the demand side factors that determine access to health care and analyses the issues of unmet needs for health care and the reasons thereof in western EU countries. A probit model is estimated from a sample of the whole population, accounting for the possibility of individual selection in unmet needs for health care (UN) (selection equation). Expanded probit models (including the inverse Mills ratio) are then used on the reasons for unmet needs (RUN) with social capital and social support as determinants and using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) dataset carried out in 2006. In RUN equations, the findings show that females, large households, people with low income and financial constraints, the unemployed and those in poor health have a higher probability of declaring unmet needs due to economic costs. Additionally, people in tertiary education, those with high income and the employed have a higher probability of not visiting a doctor when needed due to time availability. Furthermore, the frequency of contact with friends and the ability to ask for help are correlated with a lower probability of unmet needs due to economic costs, while the frequency of contact with relatives is related with a lower probability of unmet needs due to time availability and distance. However, the ability to ask for help is also correlated with a higher probability of not having medical care due to time availability and the wait-and-see-approach.

Keywords: unmet needs for healthcare; reasons for unmet needs; social capital; social support; EU Western countries; EU-SILC data; Heckman selection model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 I12 I18 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Reasons for unmet needs for health care: the role of social capital and social support in some western EU countries (2020)
Working Paper: Reasons for unmet needs for health care: the role of social capital and social support in some Western EU countries (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:yor:hectdg:18/29

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