The effect of primary healthcare on mortality: Evidence from Costa Rica

Claudio Mora-García, Madeline Pesec and Andrea M. Prado

Journal of Health Economics, 2024, vol. 93, issue C

Abstract: This paper uses the gradual implementation of a primary healthcare (PHC) intervention in Costa Rica to examine the long-term effect of PHC on mortality. Nine years after opening a primary care center, known as a Health Area, there was an associated 13% reduction in age-adjusted mortality rate in the assigned patient population. The effect was highest among adults over 65 years of age and for those with noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular-related causes of death. We also show that as Health Areas opened, more individuals sought care at primary care clinics, while fewer sought care at emergency rooms; these changes may have partially mediated the effect of the intervention on mortality.

Keywords: Primary healthcare; Mortality; Healthcare systems; Middle- and high- income countries; Preventive healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s0167629623001108

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102833

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