IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2258-d751203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Social Inequalities of Health Care Use in Hungary: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study

Author

Listed:
  • Bayu Begashaw Bekele

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
    Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan Aman 260, Ethiopia
    Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary)

  • Bahaa Aldin Alhaffar

    (Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary)

  • Rahul Naresh Wasnik

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
    Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary)

  • János Sándor

    (Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary)

Abstract

Background: The social representation of restricted health care use during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been evaluated properly yet in Hungary. Objective: Our study aimed to quantify the effect of COVID-19 pandemic measures on general practitioner (GP) visits, specialist care, hospitalization, and cost-related prescription nonredemption (CRPNR) among adults, and to identify the social strata susceptible to the pandemic effect. Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on nationally representative data of 6611 (N prepandemic = 5603 and N pandemic = 1008) adults. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to determine the sociodemographic and clinical factors influencing health care use by odds ratios (ORs) along with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). To identify the social strata susceptible to the pandemic effect, the interaction of the time of data collection with the level of education, marital status, and Roma ethnicity, was tested and described by iORs. Results: While the CRPNR did not change, the frequency of GP visits, specialist care, and hospitalization rates was remarkably reduced by 22.2%, 26.4%, and 6.7%, respectively, during the pandemic. Roma proved to be not specifically affected by the pandemic in any studied aspect, and the pandemic restructuring of health care impacted the social subgroups evenly with respect to hospital care. However, the pandemic effect was weaker among primary educated adults (iOR GP visits, high-school vs. primary-education = 0.434; 95% CI 0.243–0.776, OR specialist visit, high-school vs. primary-education = 0.598; 95% CI 0.364–0.985), and stronger among married adults (iOR GP visit, widowed vs. married = 2.284; 95% CI 1.043–4.998, iOR specialist visit, widowed vs. married = 1.915; 95% CI 1.157–3.168), on the frequency of GP visits and specialist visits. The prepandemic CRPNR inequality by the level of education was increased (iOR high-school vs. primary-education = 0.236; 95% CI 0.075–0.743). Conclusion: Primary educated and widowed adults did not follow the general trend, and their prepandemic health care use was not reduced during the pandemic. This shows that although the management of pandemic health care use restrictions was implemented by not increasing social inequity, the drug availability for primary educated individuals could require more support.

Suggested Citation

  • Bayu Begashaw Bekele & Bahaa Aldin Alhaffar & Rahul Naresh Wasnik & János Sándor, 2022. "The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Social Inequalities of Health Care Use in Hungary: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2258-:d:751203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2258/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2258/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Sudzinova & I. Nagyova & M. Studencan & J. Rosenberger & Z. Skodova & H. Vargova & B. Middel & S. Reijneveld & J. Dijk, 2013. "Roma coronary heart disease patients have more medical risk factors and greater severity of coronary heart disease than non-Roma," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(3), pages 409-415, June.
    2. Herbert J A Rolden & David van Bodegom & Rudi G J Westendorp, 2014. "Changes in Health Care Expenditure after the Loss of a Spouse: Data on 6,487 Older Widows and Widowers in the Netherlands," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Ho Fai Chan & Martin Brumpton & Alison Macintyre & Jefferson Arapoc & David A Savage & Ahmed Skali & David Stadelmann & Benno Torgler, 2020. "How confidence in health care systems affects mobility and compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, October.
    4. János Sándor & Anita Pálinkás & Ferenc Vincze & Nóra Kovács & Valéria Sipos & László Kőrösi & Zsófia Falusi & László Pál & Gergely Fürjes & Magor Papp & Róza Ádány, 2018. "Healthcare Utilization and All-Cause Premature Mortality in Hungarian Segregated Roma Settlements: Evaluation of Specific Indicators in a Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, August.
    5. Piette, John D. & Heisler, Michele & Horne, Robert & Caleb Alexander, G., 2006. "A conceptually based approach to understanding chronically ill patients' responses to medication cost pressures," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 846-857, February.
    6. Avis, Nancy E. & Brambilla, Donald J. & Vass, Kerstin & McKinlay, John B., 1991. "The effect of widowhood on health: A prospective analysis from the Massachusetts women's health study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1063-1070, January.
    7. Gabriel Kolvek & Zuzana Straussova & Maria Majernikova & Jaroslav Rosenberger & Jitse P. van Dijk, 2018. "Health Differences between Roma and Non-Roma in the Slovak Dialyzed Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-5, February.
    8. Ahn, SangNam & Kim, Seonghoon & Koh, Kanghyock, 2020. "Changes in Healthcare Utilization, Spending, and Perceived Health during COVID–19: A Longitudinal Study from Singapore," IZA Discussion Papers 13715, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Magdalena Tuczyńska & Rafał Staszewski & Maja Matthews-Kozanecka & Ewa Baum, 2022. "Impact of Socioeconomic Status on the Perception of Accessibility to and Quality of Healthcare Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Poles—Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-10, May.
    2. Ákos Levente Tóth & Zsuzsanna Kívés & Etelka Szovák & Réka Kresák & Sára Jeges & Bendegúz Kertai & Imre Zoltán Pelyva, 2022. "Sense of Coherence and Self-Rated Aggression of Adolescents during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with a Focus on the Effects of Animal Assisted Activities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-13, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barbara Pavlikova & Lenka Freel & Jitse P. van Dijk, 2020. "To Comply or Not to Comply: Roma Approach to Health Laws," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Ferenc Vincze & Anett Földvári & Anita Pálinkás & Valéria Sipos & Eszter Anna Janka & Róza Ádány & János Sándor, 2019. "Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Activity-Limiting Disability among Roma and Non-Roma People: A Cross-Sectional, Census-Based Investigation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Wright, Austin L. & Sonin, Konstantin & Driscoll, Jesse & Wilson, Jarnickae, 2020. "Poverty and economic dislocation reduce compliance with COVID-19 shelter-in-place protocols," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 544-554.
    4. Gabriel Kolvek & Ludmila Podracka & Jaroslav Rosenberger & Roy Stewart & Jitse Dijk & Sijmen Reijneveld, 2014. "Kidney diseases in Roma and non-Roma children from eastern Slovakia: are Roma children more at risk?," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 59(6), pages 1023-1026, December.
    5. Alfano, Vincenzo, 2023. "God or good health? Evidence on belief in God in relation to public health during a pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. Liana R Woskie & Jonathan Hennessy & Valeria Espinosa & Thomas C Tsai & Swapnil Vispute & Benjamin H Jacobson & Ciro Cattuto & Laetitia Gauvin & Michele Tizzoni & Alex Fabrikant & Krishna Gadepalli & , 2021. "Early social distancing policies in Europe, changes in mobility & COVID-19 case trajectories: Insights from Spring 2020," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-12, June.
    7. Frank Daumann & Florian Follert & Werner Gleißner & Endre Kamarás & Chantal Naumann, 2021. "Political Decision Making in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Germany from the Perspective of Risk Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Dupuy, Jules & Barnay, Thomas & Defebvre, Eric, 2024. "Clear as a bell? Policy stringency and elderly health during Covid-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    9. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Ercolano, 2022. "Stay at Home! Governance Quality and Effectiveness of Lockdown," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 101-123, January.
    10. Alfano, Vincenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore & Pinto, Mauro, 2022. "Carrot and stick: Economic support and stringency policies in response to COVID-19," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Gizell Green & Riki Tesler, 2023. "Trust in Health Care Providers, Anxiety, Knowledge, Adherence to Guidelines, and Mental Healthcare Needs Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    12. Francesco Sarracino & Talita Greyling & Kelsey J. O'Connor & Chiara Peroni & Stephanie Rossouw, 2021. "Trust predicts compliance to Covid-19 containment policies: evidence from ten countries using big data," Department of Economics University of Siena 858, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    13. Anastasios Papanastasiou & Bradley J. Ruffle & Angela Zheng, 2022. "Compliance with social distancing: Theory and empirical evidence from Ontario during COVID‐19," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 705-734, February.
    14. Ronja Demel & Francesco Grassi & Yasaman Rafiee & Michael R. Waldmann & Annekathrin Schacht, 2022. "How German and Italian Laypeople Reason about Distributive Shortages during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-18, September.
    15. Henrike Sternberg & Janina Isabel Steinert & Tim Büthe, 2024. "Compliance in the public versus the private realm: Economic preferences, institutional trust and COVID‐19 health behaviors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 1055-1119, May.
    16. Olga Amberger & Angelina Müller & Dorothea Lemke & Hardy Müller & David Schwappach & Peter Wendt & Michel Wensing & Maria-Sophie Brueckle & Beate S. Müller, 2022. "Patient Safety and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: A Repeated Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. Gabriel Kolvek & Zuzana Straussova & Maria Majernikova & Jaroslav Rosenberger & Jitse P. van Dijk, 2018. "Health Differences between Roma and Non-Roma in the Slovak Dialyzed Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-5, February.
    18. Adena, Maja & Hamermesh, Daniel & Myck, Michał & Oczkowska, Monika, 2023. "Home Alone: Widows’ Well-Being and Time," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-1.
    19. Peña-Longobardo, L.M. & Rodríguez-Sánchez, B. & Oliva-Moreno, J., 2021. "The impact of widowhood on wellbeing, health, and care use: A longitudinal analysis across Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    20. János Sándor & Anita Pálinkás & Ferenc Vincze & Nóra Kovács & Valéria Sipos & László Kőrösi & Zsófia Falusi & László Pál & Gergely Fürjes & Magor Papp & Róza Ádány, 2018. "Healthcare Utilization and All-Cause Premature Mortality in Hungarian Segregated Roma Settlements: Evaluation of Specific Indicators in a Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2258-:d:751203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.