Health effects of financial crisis: Omens of a Greek tragedy
There are signs that health outcomes in Greece have worsened during the financial crisis, especially in vulnerable groups. These concerns are detailed in Correspondence published Online First by The Lancet, written by Alexander Kentikelenis and Dr David Stuckler, University of Cambridge, UK, and Professor Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues.
Based on EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, the data show that Greek citizens were 15% more likely not to consult a doctor in 2009 than before the crisis began in 2007. However, this did not appear to be directly linked to inability to afford care, but to factors such as long waiting times, travel distance to care, and waiting to feel better. Since Greece's universal health system entitles people to free consultations with a general practitioner and very cheap visits to outpatient clinics (0 to 5 Euros per visit), the authors say these noted reductions in access probably reflect supply-side problems: there were cuts of around 40% in hospital budgets, understaffing, reported occasional shortages of medical supplies, and bribes given to medical staff to jump queues in overstretched hospitals.
Admissions to public hospitals increase by 24% in 2010 compared with 2009, and by 8% in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period of 2010. Alarmingly, there has been a 14% rise in the proportion of Greek citizens reporting that their health was "bad" or "very bad" in 2009 compared with 2007. Suicides rose by 17% in 2009 from 2007 and unofficial 2010 data quoted in parliament mention a 25% rise compared with 2009. The Minister of Health reported a 40% rise in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.
Other alarming indicators include the rise in violence, and homicide and theft rates nearly doubled between 2007 and 2009. The number of people able to obtain sickness benefits declined by around 40% between 2007 and 2009, probably due to budget cuts. A significant increase in HIV infections occurred in late 2010. The latest data suggest that new infections will rise by 52% in 2011 compared with 2010 (922 new cases versus 605), with half of the currently observed increases attributable to infections among intravenous drug users. Data for the first 7 months of 2011 show more than a 10-fold rise in new infections in these drug users compared with the same period in 2010. The prevalence of heroin use reportedly rose by 20% in 2009, from 20 200 to 24 100, according to estimates from the Greek Documentation and Monitoring Centre for Drugs. Budget cuts in 2009 and 2010 have resulted in the loss of a third of the country's street-work programmes.
The authors highlight that the news is not all bad: there have been marked reductions in alcohol consumption and, according to police data, drink-driving has decreased. These trends were not artefacts of reduced detection owing to budget cuts in the police force, since police checks remained the same and more drivers were screened in 2009 than 2008.
The authors conclude: "Overall, the picture of health in Greece is concerning. It reminds us that, in an effort to finance debts, ordinary people are paying the ultimate price: losing access to care and preventive services, facing higher risks of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, and in the worst cases losing their lives. Greater attention to health and health-care access is needed to ensure that the Greek crisis does not undermine the ultimate source of the country's wealthits people."
More information: Paper online: www.thelancet.com/… 6-0/abstract
Provided by Lancet
-
2008 crisis spurred rise in suicides in Europe
Jul 08, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Massachusetts health-care reform associated with increased demand for medical safety-net facilities
Aug 09, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Warning on STIs: Australian report
Sep 27, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Little historical evidence to support cutting global health aid during recessions
Feb 25, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Counting the cost of cold winters: Emergency treatment for falls on snow and ice
Jun 17, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
US health care: Does more spending yield better health?
(Medical Xpress)—Health care spending is much higher for older Americans than for younger adults and children, on average, and analysts have said that increasing spending leads to longer life expectancy.
Health
32 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Facing the chill wind of blood pressure
(Medical Xpress)—High blood pressure is something that has traditionally been a problem in Scotland, but might there be a link to our climate?
Health
42 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Alcohol sales fall due to ban on multi-buy promotions
(Medical Xpress)—A report published today shows a 2.6% decrease in the amount of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland in the year following the introduction of the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act in October 2011.
Health
52 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Study focuses on new mums' sleepiness and injury risk on the road
New mothers throughout Australia are needed to help QUT sleep researchers investigate whether the disrupted sleep experienced by mothers when caring for their new baby raises the risk of injury while driving.
Health
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Portland, Ore., rejecting water fluoridation
(AP)—The mayor of Portland, Ore., has conceded defeat in an effort to add fluoride to the city's drinking water.
Health
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Study shows low rate of late lumen loss with bioresorbable DESolve device
The DESolve bioresorbable coronary scaffold system achieves good efficacy and safety with low rates of late lumen loss and major coronary adverse events at six months, show first results from the pivotal DESolve Nx trial ...
Study finds COPD is over-diagnosed among uninsured patients
More than 40 percent of patients being treated for COPD at a federally funded clinic did not have the disease, researchers found after evaluating the patients with spirometry, the diagnostic "gold standard" for chronic obstructive ...
Registry questions superiority of bivalirudin over heparin
Results from a large observational study reported at EuroPCR 2013 today question whether bivalirudin is superior to heparin in the absence of GPIIb/IIIa blockade, showing similar 30-day mortality in patients with non-ST segment ...
New blood-thinner measures may cut medication errors
Blood thinners are the preferred treatment option to prevent heart attacks, blood clots and stroke, but they are not without risk, and not just because of their side effects. These high-risk drugs, known as anticoagulants, ...
Small increase in cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence
Study leader, Professor John Mathews from the University of Melbourne said this small increase in cancer risk must be weighed against the undoubted benefits from CT scans in diagnosing and monitoring disease.
Indian medics reconstruct baby's swollen head
Indian doctors said Wednesday they have successfully carried out a first round of reconstructive surgery on the skull of a baby suffering from a rare disorder that caused her head to nearly double in size.