Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Value in Health Regional Issues, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-9, 2022 (Scopus)
Inclusive health policies and
health promotion to ensure strong primary health care systems are main tenets
of health reforms in developing countries, such as Turkey. However, there has
been a lack of interest regarding the assessment of equity in health services
utilization under public health reform and promotion of primary care. This
study aims to analyze equity by measuring deviations from proportionality in
the relationship between the utilization of health services and income using indices
and curve approaches. A cross-sectional national Turkey Health Survey used for the
years 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Gini and Kakwani indices and Concentration
curves were estimated and the degree of regressivity was analyzed to understand
the sources of equity in health services utilization. Health services
utilization for inpatients and outpatient services, family medicine/general practitioner services
were regressive between the years 2008 and 2014. The most regressive pattern
was observed in the year 2014 regarding medicine usage (Kakwani index = –0.1808904). Differences in the utilization of health services have increased, hurting the poorest
during the health reform in Turkey. Policies focused on health promotion to
strengthen the primary health system, as well as continuous monitoring of
health services utilization by vulnerable groups are essential for ensuring a fairer
health service usage in developing countries.