Abstract
Expansion of the commercial medical service market in Russia is a risk factor that promotes social inequality. In remote rural areas, social infrastructure, in particular the healthcare system, has been degrading. As a result, patients have widely taken to the use of commercial medical services. In this situation, such behavioral models are demonstrated not only by well-off, but even by needy rural and small-town residents. In this context, research on the formation mechanisms of user practices in the commercial medical service market in remote rural areas and smaller towns gains more relevance. The objective of the study is to assess the behavior of people in the Republic of Karelia (Russia) as users of commercial services. Methodologically, the study employed the household approach and statistical data analysis methods: factor and discriminant analyses. We demonstrate that the active use of commercial medical services by poor population strata is a necessity-driven activity caused by the absence or low availability of free services of this sort, or their low quality at the local level. The findings can help in decision-making on upgrading the social policy in healthcare.
Highlights
One of the modern challenges faced by the governments of all countries of the world, including Europe, is the COVID-19 infection
Having analyzed the identified groups, we built a typology of consumer activity in the commercial medical service market, grouping consumer activity into four levels in comparison with the average over the Republic of Karelia: much above average, above average, below average, and much below average
In terms of settlement size, 93.2% of the families live in a medium-size town, where free-of-charge medical services are more available than in a small town or a rural community
Summary
One of the modern challenges faced by the governments of all countries of the world, including Europe, is the COVID-19 infection. The governments of the countries were forced to react urgently in order to prevent high infection and mortality of the population [1, 2]. A huge role during the pandemic was played by the system of commercial medical services, providing services for timely examination and counseling of the population. Does the population have any restrictions on the consumption of commercial services? The issues of accessibility of medical services, organization of the health care system, taking into account the development of commercial services, are extremely relevant and are discussed by scientists from different countries [3,4,5]. Expansion of the commercial medical service market in Russia is a risk factor that promotes social inequality. A strong impetus has been given to the advancement of science-
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