Agota Szende

Equity in Health and Health Care in Hungary: Health Status, Finance, and Delivery of Health Care Agota Szende

While the improvement of the overall level of health of the population continues to be a high priority, there is an increasing concern about the distribution of health within the population and the fairness of health care systems. The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive assessment of income-related equity in health and health care and to explore the value of using health-related quality of life measurement in this application. Cross-sectional analyses were performed based on data from post-transitional period in Hungary. Based on most recent analytic methods, the book reveals substantial income-related health inequalities with pain/discomfort being the principal contributor, and highlights the potential role of pain management programmes in policy-making. The research also finds that a significant part of income-related inequity in delivery of care turns out not to be directly linked to income but to other social, economic and geographical characteristics that are, however, associated with income level. This book is a must for those concerned about health inequalities and research methods to measure them.