Projects per year
Abstract
Objectives. Responsiveness has been identified as one of the intrinsic goals of health care systems. Little is known, however, about its determinants. Our objective is to investigate the potential country-level drivers of health system responsiveness.
Data Source. Data on responsiveness are taken from the World Health Survey. Information on country-level characteristics is obtained from a variety of sources including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Study Design. A two step procedure. First, using survey data we derive a country-level measure of system responsiveness purged of differences in individual reporting behaviour. Secondly, we run cross-sectional country-level regressions of responsiveness on potential drivers.
Principal Findings. Health care expenditures per capita are positively associated with responsiveness, after controlling for the influence of potential confounding factors. Aspects of responsiveness are also associated with public sector spending (negatively) and educational development (positively).
Conclusions. From a policy perspective, improvements in responsiveness may require higher spending levels. The expansion of non-public sector provision, perhaps in the form of increased patient choice, may also serve to improve responsiveness. However, these inferences are tentative, and require further study.
Keywords: Health system performance, Responsiveness, Cross-country comparison, Health care spending per capita, Vignettes.
Data Source. Data on responsiveness are taken from the World Health Survey. Information on country-level characteristics is obtained from a variety of sources including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Study Design. A two step procedure. First, using survey data we derive a country-level measure of system responsiveness purged of differences in individual reporting behaviour. Secondly, we run cross-sectional country-level regressions of responsiveness on potential drivers.
Principal Findings. Health care expenditures per capita are positively associated with responsiveness, after controlling for the influence of potential confounding factors. Aspects of responsiveness are also associated with public sector spending (negatively) and educational development (positively).
Conclusions. From a policy perspective, improvements in responsiveness may require higher spending levels. The expansion of non-public sector provision, perhaps in the form of increased patient choice, may also serve to improve responsiveness. However, these inferences are tentative, and require further study.
Keywords: Health system performance, Responsiveness, Cross-country comparison, Health care spending per capita, Vignettes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2079-2100 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Health services research |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 6 pt 2 |
Early online date | 15 Jul 2011 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2011 |
Projects
- 1 Finished
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HEDG: Large Grant Scheme: Health, Econometrics and Data Group
Rice, N. (Principal investigator), Rice, N. (Principal investigator), Jones, A. M. (Other) & Smith, P. C. (Other)
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (ESRC)
1/01/09 → 30/06/13
Project: Research project (funded) › Research