Health Care Accessibility and Breast Cancer Mortality in Europe

Agata Ciuba (), Katarzyna Wnuk, Aneta Nitsch-Osuch and Marta Kulpa
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Agata Ciuba: Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Doctoral School, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-007 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Wnuk: Department of Health Policy Programs, Department of Health Technology Assessment, Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System, 00-032 Warsaw, Poland
Aneta Nitsch-Osuch: Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-007 Warsaw, Poland
Marta Kulpa: Department of Psychology and Medical Communication, Medical University of Warsaw, 00-581 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of death, due to malignant neoplasms in women worldwide. The nature of the symptoms associated with breast cancer depends on the stage of the disease. In this case, any cancerous changes in the initial phase of the disease can only be detected during imaging tests. Participation in mammography screening can reduce breast cancer mortality by up to 40%, if only 70% of the eligible population participates in preventive programs. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of accessibility to health care resources on breast cancer mortality. Methods: Eurostat aggregated health care data was extracted. Hierarchical cluster analysis of average breast cancer mortality identified four groups of countries with similar mortality rates and trends. The data was then analyzed, in terms of access to health care. Results: It was observed that the higher the financial expenditure on health care and the better the health care accessibility, the lower the mortality rates of breast cancer. Conclusions: There are examples indicating that the studied elements are not the only factors affecting the improvement of population health. The authors would like to emphasize the need to influence lifestyle factors, direct cancer risk, and introduce a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer prevention.

Keywords: breast cancer mortality; preventive mammography; health care accessibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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