Sociologie Românească (Sep 2016)
The Role of Access to Healthcare in Self-rated Health in Romania, from a European Comparative Perspective
Abstract
This paper investigates the contribution of the socioeconomic status and access to healthcare toward subjective health in Romania, when compared to two groups of countries: the Central and Eastern European, and the Nordic and Western countries. This data come from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) 2012. Two models are examined, with the help of logistic regression: one testing the contribution of socioeconomic status on self-rated health, and one testing the influence of access to healthcare on self-rated health. In line with previous research, the results showed that the socioeconomic status contributes significantly to the health status in Romania, as well as the two country groups, although there was evidence of greater social and economic inequalities in Romania. Similarly, access to healthcare was proven to be a key universal factor influencing self-rated health, but in Romania, it showed a higher extent of variation in the self-perceived general health.
