Viera Pacáková

Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Pardubice

Czech Republic

Viera.Pacakova@upce.cz

Comparing inequalities in health outcomes in European countries

Lucie Kopecká

Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Pardubice

Czech Republic 

st45137@student.upce.cz

Abstract. Quality healthcare system is a priority for citizens of any country. Citizens’ health is also a core EU priority. The objective of this article is application of multidimensional statistical techniques as a tool for information value added on health outcomes data in European countries and their further comparison. To achieve this objective, factor analysis and multidimensional comparison methods have been applied to the matrix of 16 healthcare indicators on 25 selected European countries. The synthetic variable allows transforming the countries described by a variety of healthcare indicators into one-dimensional space that considerably simplify monitoring of healthcare inequalities. The obtained results are compared with the results on the self-perceived health status provided by the citizens of the same countries. The results of this comparison have demonstrated significant similarity between self-reported statuses and objectively measured healthcare statuses. The results are presented in a visual form using tables and graphs.

Received: May, 2018

1st Revision: August, 2018

Accepted: November, 2018

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2018/11-4/15

JEL Classification: C38, I14, I18

Keywords: healthcare outcomes, healthcare inequalities, multidimensional techniques, European countries