Abstract
BackgroundPreventive health services play a vital role in population health. However, access to such services is not always equitably distributed. In this article, we examine the barriers affecting utilisation rates of preventive health services, using Chile as a case study.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study analysing secondary data from 206,132 Chilean adults, taken from the 2015 National Socioeconomic Characterisation Survey of the Government of Chile. We carried out logistic regressions to explore the relationship between the dependent variable use of preventive services and various demographic and socioeconomic variables.ResultsCategories more likely to use preventive services were women (OR=1.16; 95%CI: 1.11–1.21) and inactive people (OR=1.41; 95%CI: 1.33–1.48). By contrast, single individuals (OR= 0.85 ; 95%CI: 0.80–0.91) and those affiliated with the private healthcare provider (OR= 0.89; 95%CI: 0.81–0.96) had fewer odds of undertaking preventive exams.ConclusionsThe findings underline the necessity of better information campaigns on the availability and necessity of preventive health services, addressing health inequality in accessing health services, and tackling lifestyle-related health risks. This is particularly important in countries – such as Chile – characterised by high income inequality and low utilisation rates of preventive health services.
Highlights
Preventive health services play a vital role in population health
This study addresses a gap in existing literature, both in terms of contribution to general knowledge on utilisation rates and possible barriers affecting preventive health services, and in terms of knowledge about access and utilisation of preventive exams in Chile, a country characterised by high income inequality and stratification of its health care services
More people that use preventive services are affiliated with Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA) (89%) and fewer are affiliated with an Instituciones de Salud Previsional (ISAPRE) (7.4%), compared to people not using such services (82 and 12.4%, correspondingly)
Summary
Preventive health services play a vital role in population health. access to such services is not always equitably distributed. The importance of this study lies on the fact that Chile, as many other developed countries, has been experiencing an ageing of its population: the over-60 group – currently 11.1% of the population – is expected to reach 13% by 2020, underlining the increasing need for preventive services, as population becomes more likely to suffer from chronic and age-related diseases [3]. Unlike many international studies that have used specific subpopulations and health surveys to investigate utilisation of preventive health services and the factors affecting such rates (for example, Schülein et al, on participation in preventive health check-ups of German women; Yen et al, on use of preventive services among adults with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan) [6, 7], in this study we use cross-sectional data from over 200,000 Chilean adults from the general population, available from the National Socioeconomic Characterisation Survey of the Government of Chile
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