CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH AND FACTORS INFLUENCING FULFILMENT OF THE NEED FOR HEALTHCARE IN EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

The paper deals with subjective perceptions of health by individuals. The research aimed at understanding socioeconomic and demographic factors influencing the fulfilment of healthcare needs and at finding out categories of factors that lead to the highest chances of meeting the need in consumer segments formed according to perceptions of their health status. The analyses were based on the EU-SILC database of primary data on the income situation and living conditions of households. In 2017, the database included extra questions on health. The method of cluster analysis was employed. As a result, three clusters of individuals representing EU countries formed depending on the perceived state of health – the authors named the clusters ‘optimistic’, ‘neutral’, and ‘pessimistic’. For each segment, the binary logistic regression was applied to determine categories of factors leading to the highest probability of meeting the healthcare need. The greatest influence over the fulfilment of the need for healthcare has been confirmed for the factor “Sector of economic activity”, followed by the type of economic activity. Some differences were revealed between segments. For example in the third segment, i.e., respondents who rated worst their health, a strong influence of education has been identified. The highest chances of meeting the need for health care are achieved in the first segment by executives, but in the second and the third segment by individuals active in education. On the other hand, craftsmen and workers have the lowest chances. In all segments, the influence of household composition was confirmed, with single households and single-parent households reporting lower chances of meeting their healthcare needs. Respondents who did not feel their healthcare need was met mostly said it was due to financial reasons, long waiting times, or fear of medical treatment.