Communiqué, issue 2, 2004
Articles
- Less satisfaction with health services in the ACC
- Moderate pay increases across Europe in 2003
- Stable year for industrial relations
- Advisor bids farewell to the Foundation
- 71st Administrative Board meeting
- Promoting EU-level social policy
- Major differences in collectively agreed holidays across Europe
- Increase in number of web users
- Living to work – working to live
Previous issues of Communiqué
People in the acceding and candidate countries (ACC) are, on average, less satisfied with their health care systems and social services than those in the EU15. Austrians and Finns report the highest satisfaction levels while people in Bulgaria and Turkey are least satisfied. People in Portugal and Greece, however, report similarly low levels of satisfaction, according to Health and care in an enlarged Europe, a comparative report on health and health care issues across 28 European countries.
The report forms part of a series of Foundation studies on quality of life in an enlarging Europe and is based on Eurobarometer surveys in the EU and the acceding and candidate countries (ACC). It examines how Europeans perceive their own health, whether they lead healthy lifestyles, how easily they can access health services and how satisfied they are with their national health care systems.
Satisfaction with own health
The research found that more than 80% of EU citizens are at least ‘fairly satisfied’ with their own health, while fewer than 70% of respondents in the ACC report this level of satisfaction. In this context, satisfaction with personal health can be considered a valid indicator of actual health status. As expected, older people are less satisfied than younger people. However, the effect of age on health satisfaction is on average much stronger in the ACC than in EU Member States. Health status was also found to be related to income distribution in both groups of countries. In all countries, those with a higher income report a higher degree of health satisfaction, but the gap between the highest and the lowest income quartile is smaller in the EU. Although women tend to be less satisfied with their health than men, gender inequalities are smaller than income-related differences.
Source: Getty Images
Access to health facilities
The report reveals wide differences among countries in access to health care facilities, such as proximity to a hospital or to a general practitioner.Within the EU, 96% of people interviewed reported needing less than one hour to get to a hospital, and 85% declared they were able to reach a general practitioner’s surgery within 20 minutes. In the acceding and candidate countries, the averages are lower: 87% can access hospitals within an hour and 62% can get to their local doctor in under 20 minutes.
Care in an ageing society
The report reveals high levels of informal care provision in both the current EU and in the acceding and candidate countries. On average, 25% of respondents in the ACC and 21% of those in the EU provide continuous care to someone with a long-term illness or disability.
When asked to think about the best care solution for their own parents when they become dependent, respondents expressed a clear preference for domestic care over residential care and for family support solutions over formal help.
High level of family support
The report reveals a remarkable degree of inter-generational empathy and little self-interest among Europeans when it comes to considering the best ways of paying for care. In the ACC and EU alike, older citizens express a desire to shift the financial burden to the elderly rather than have younger people pay.