IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i9p5734-d811043.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Socioeconomic Status on the Perception of Accessibility to and Quality of Healthcare Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Poles—Pilot Study

Author

Listed:
  • Magdalena Tuczyńska

    (SSC of Maxillofacial and Orthopaedics and Orthodontics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland)

  • Rafał Staszewski

    (Department of Hypertension, Angiology and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland)

  • Maja Matthews-Kozanecka

    (Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland)

  • Ewa Baum

    (Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland
    Division of Philosophy of Medicine and Bioethics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland)

Abstract

This pilot study was conducted on the reported hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had an impact on the accessibility and quality of healthcare services and exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities. The aim was to determine whether economic status and education had an impact on the perception of access and quality to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether, according to patients, accessibility and quality had changed significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period in Poland. The study was based on the authors’ questionnaire and the results were statistically analyzed. Two hundred forty-seven feedback responses were received with a responsiveness rate of 93 percent. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing education level and utilization of healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A comparison of gender and economic situation, and average monthly income found no statistically significant differences. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the provision of health services in many countries around the world. One result of the pandemic crisis has been widening socioeconomic inequalities among patients.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:5734-:d:811043
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5734/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5734/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moscelli, Giuseppe & Siciliani, Luigi & Gutacker, Nils & Cookson, Richard, 2018. "Socioeconomic inequality of access to healthcare: Does choice explain the gradient?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 290-314.
    2. Yi-Ping Hsieh & Cheng-Fang Yen & Chia-Fen Wu & Peng-Wei Wang, 2021. "Nonattendance at Scheduled Appointments in Outpatient Clinics Due to COVID-19 and Related Factors in Taiwan: A Health Belief Model Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Yaovi Tossou, 2021. "Effect of COVID-19 on demand for healthcare in Togo," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Pearl A. McElfish & Rachel Purvis & Laura P. James & Don E. Willis & Jennifer A. Andersen, 2021. "Perceived Barriers to COVID-19 Testing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-8, February.
    5. Oddvar Kaarboe & Fredrik Carlsen, 2014. "Waiting Times And Socioeconomic Status. Evidence From Norway," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(1), pages 93-107, January.
    6. Piotr Korneta & Magdalena Kludacz-Alessandri & Renata Walczak, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Performance of Primary Health Care Service Providers in a Capitation Payment System: A Case Study from Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-19, February.
    7. Justyna Rój & Maciej Jankowiak, 2021. "Socioeconomic Determinants of Health and Their Unequal Distribution in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Bartosz Sawik & Julia Płonka, 2022. "Project and Prototype of Mobile Application for Monitoring the Global COVID-19 Epidemiological Situation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, January.
    9. Daniel Badell & Jesica de Armas & Albert Julià, 2022. "Impact of Socioeconomic Environment on Home Social Care Service Demand and Dependent Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Alicia Núñez & S. D. Sreeganga & Arkalgud Ramaprasad, 2021. "Access to Healthcare during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, March.
    11. Marta Makowska & Rafał Boguszewski & Michał Nowakowski & Monika Podkowińska, 2020. "Self-Medication-Related Behaviors and Poland’s COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    12. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Nicolai Fink Simonsen & Anne Sophie Oxholm & Søren Rud Kristensen & Luigi Siciliani, 2020. "What explains differences in waiting times for health care across socioeconomic status?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(12), pages 1764-1785, December.
    2. Laia Bosque‐Mercader & Neus Carrilero & Anna García‐Altés & Guillem López‐Casasnovas & Luigi Siciliani, 2023. "Socioeconomic inequalities in waiting times for planned and cancer surgery: Evidence from Spain," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1181-1201, May.
    3. Martin, Steve & Siciliani, Luigi & Smith, Peter, 2020. "Socioeconomic inequalities in waiting times for primary care across ten OECD countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    4. Silvia Angerer & Christian Waibel & Harald Stummer, 2019. "Discrimination in Health Care: A Field Experiment on the Impact of Patients’ Socioeconomic Status on Access to Care," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(4), pages 407-427, Fall.
    5. Moscelli, Giuseppe & Gravelle, Hugh & Siciliani, Luigi, 2023. "The effect of hospital choice and competition on inequalities in waiting times," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 169-201.
    6. Turner, Alex J & Francetic, Igor & Watkinson, Ruth & Gillibrand, Stephanie & Sutton, Matt, 2022. "Socioeconomic inequality in access to timely and appropriate care in emergency departments," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    7. Joana Cima & Paulo Guimarães & Álvaro Almeida, 2018. "Explaining the gender gap in waiting times for scheduled surgery in the Portuguese National Health Service," FEP Working Papers 607, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    8. Eric French & Elaine Kelly & Richard Cookson & Carol Propper & Miqdad Asaria & Rosalind Raine, 2016. "Socio‐Economic Inequalities in Health Care in England," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 37, pages 371-403, September.
    9. Michał Czapla & Raúl Juárez-Vela & Katarzyna Łokieć & Marta Wleklik & Piotr Karniej & Jacek Smereka, 2022. "The Association between Nutritional Status and Length of Hospital Stay among Patients with Hypertension," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-13, May.
    10. Hernæs, Øystein & Kverndokk, Snorre & Markussen, Simen & Øien, Henning, 2023. "When health trumps money: Economic incentives and health equity in the public provision of nursing homes in Norway," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    11. Szymon Florek & Magdalena Piegza & Paweł Dębski & Piotr Gorczyca & Robert Pudlo, 2022. "The Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Symptoms of Anxiety, the Level of Aggression and Alcohol Consumption in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Polish Respondents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-12, June.
    12. Karin Monstad & Lars Birger Engesæter & Birgitte Espehaug, 2014. "Waiting Time And Socioeconomic Status—An Individual‐Level Analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(4), pages 446-461, April.
    13. Kamila Jaroń & Angelika Jastrzębska & Kamil Mąkosza & Mateusz Grajek & Karolina Krupa-Kotara & Joanna Kobza, 2023. "Availability of Medical Services and Teleconsultation during COVID-19 Pandemic in the Opinion of Patients of Hematology Clinics—A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study (Silesia, Poland)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-12, February.
    14. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    15. Lippi Bruni, Matteo & Ugolini, Cristina & Verzulli, Rossella, 2021. "Should I wait or should I go? Travelling versus waiting for better healthcare," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    16. Gutacker, Nils & Siciliani, Luigi & Cookson, Richard, 2016. "Waiting time prioritisation: Evidence from England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 140-151.
    17. Liliana Hawrysz & Grażyna Gierszewska & Agnieszka Bitkowska, 2021. "The Research on Patient Satisfaction with Remote Healthcare Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-14, May.
    18. Esther Van Poel & Claire Collins & Peter Groenewegen & Peter Spreeuwenberg & Gazmend Bojaj & Jonila Gabrani & Christian Mallen & Liubove Murauskiene & Milena Šantrić Milićević & Emmily Schaubroeck & S, 2023. "The Organization of Outreach Work for Vulnerable Patients in General Practice during COVID-19: Results from the Cross-Sectional PRICOV-19 Study in 38 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.
    19. Bartosz Sawik, 2023. "Space Mission Risk, Sustainability and Supply Chain: Review, Multi-Objective Optimization Model and Practical Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-25, July.
    20. Callum Brindley & James Lomas & Luigi Siciliani, 2023. "The effect of hospital spending on waiting times," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(11), pages 2427-2445, November.

    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:9:p:5734-:d:811043. 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.