Dataset Information

Health care reform in the former Soviet Union: beyond the transition.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: To assess accessibility and affordability of health care in eight countries of the former Soviet Union. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary data collection conducted in 2010 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional household survey using multistage stratified random sampling. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Data were collected using standardized questionnaires with subjects aged 18+ on demographic, socioeconomic, and health care access characteristics. Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were used. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Almost half of respondents who had a health problem in the previous month which they viewed as needing care had not sought care. Respondents significantly less likely to seek care included those living in Armenia, Georgia, or Ukraine, in rural areas, aged 35-49, with a poor household economic situation, and high alcohol consumption. Cost was most often cited as the reason for not seeking health care. Most respondents who did obtain care made out-of-pocket payments, with median amounts varying from $13 in Belarus to $100 in Azerbaijan. CONCLUSIONS: Access to health care and within-country inequalities appear to have improved over the past decade. However, considerable problems remain, including out-of-pocket payments and unaffordability despite efforts to improve financial protection.

SUBMITTER: Balabanova D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3419892 | biostudies-other | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Health care reform in the former Soviet Union: beyond the transition.

Balabanova Dina D Roberts Bayard B Richardson Erica E Haerpfer Christian C McKee Martin M

Health services research 20110923 2

<h4>Objective</h4>To assess accessibility and affordability of health care in eight countries of the former Soviet Union.<h4>Data sources/study setting</h4>Primary data collection conducted in 2010 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine.<h4>Study design</h4>Cross-sectional household survey using multistage stratified random sampling.<h4>Data collection/extraction methods</h4>Data were collected using standardized questionnaires with subjects aged 18+ o ...[more]

PMID: 22092004

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Project description:BackgroundThere is unfinished reform in primary care in Russia and other former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. The traditional 'Semashko' multi-specialty polyclinic model has been retained, while its major characteristics are increasingly questioned. The search for a new model is on a health policy agenda. It is relevant for many other countries.ObjectivesIn this paper, we explore the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-specialty polyclinic model currently found in Russia and other FSU countries, as well as the features of the emerging multi-disciplinary and large-scale primary care models internationally. The comparison of the two is a major research question. Health policy implications are discussed.MethodsWe use data from two physicians' surveys and recent literature to identify the characteristics of multi-specialty polyclinics, indicators of their performance and the evaluation in the specific country context. The review of the literature is used to describe new primary care models internationally.ResultsThe Semashko polyclinic model has lost some of its original strengths due to the excessive specialization of service delivery. We demonstrate the strengths of extended practices in Western countries and conclude that FSU countries should "leapfrog" the phase of developing solo practices and build a multi-disciplinary model similar to the extended practices model in Europe. The latter may act as a 'golden mean' between the administrative dominance of the polyclinic model and the limited capacity of solo practices. The new model requires a separation of primary care and outpatient specialty care, with the transformation of polyclinics into centers of outpatient diagnostic and specialty services that become part of hospital services while working closely with primary care.ConclusionThe comprehensiveness of care in a big setting and potential economies of scale, which are major strengths of the polyclinic model, should be retained in the provision of specialty care rather than primary care. Internationally, there are lessons about the risks associated with models based on narrow specialization in caring for patients who increasingly have multiple conditions.

Project description:Germany is a country known for immigration. In 2015, 21% of the general population in Germany consisted of individuals with a migration background. This article focuses on cancer-specific incidence and mortality among one of the biggest migrant groups in Germany: the resettlers. Resettlers are ethnic Germans who mainly immigrated from the Russian federation and other countries of the former Soviet Union after its collapse in 1989. We investigated differences between resettlers and the general German population, regarding (i) incidence and mortality of malignant neoplasms, (ii) time trends of the corresponding incidence and mortality, and (iii) cancer stage at diagnosis. We provide data from two resettler cohorts covering an observation time of 20 years: one cohort on cancer incidence (N = 32,972), and another cohort on mortality (N = 59,390). Cancer-specific standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for all malignant neoplasms combined and the most common cancer-sites were calculated between resettlers and the general German population. Time trend analyses using Poisson regression were performed to investigate the developments of SIRs and SMRs. To investigate differences in stage at diagnosis, logistic regression was performed, calculating Odds Ratios for condensed cancer stages. We observed higher incidence and mortality of stomach cancer [SIR (men) 1.62, 95%CI 1.17-2.19; SMR (men) 1.62, 95%CI 1.31-2.01; SIR (women) 1.32, 95%CI 0.86-1.94; SMR (women) 1.52, 95%CI 1.19-1.93] and higher mortality of lung cancer [SMR (men) 1.34, 95%CI 1.20-1.50] among resettlers compared to the general German population, but lower incidence and mortality of colorectal (both sexes), lung (women), prostate and female breast cancer. However, time trend analyses showed converging incidence risks of cause-specific incidence over time, whereas differences of mortality did not show changes over time. Results from logistic regression suggest that resettler men were more often diagnosed with advanced cancer stages compared to the Münster population. Our findings suggest that risk factor patterns of the most common cancer-sites among resettlers are similar to those observed within the Russian population. Such increases in prostate, colorectal and breast cancer incidence may be the consequence of improved detection measures, and/or the adaptation of resettlers to the German lifestyle.

Dataset Information

Health care reform in the former Soviet Union: beyond the transition.

Publications

Health care reform in the former Soviet Union: beyond the transition.

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