Withstanding austerity : economic crisis and health inequalities in Spain

Abstract: Background: Along with the austerity measures introduced in many countries, the economic crisis affecting Europe since 2008 seems to have impacted many aspects of the health of the Spanish population and has had a negative effect on the provision health services. An increasing body of knowledge has shown a clear impact of the current crisis on suicidal behaviour and mental health, and a less consistent effect on physical health and access to healthcare. However, little is known about the impact of the crisis on social inequalities in health and healthcare access, an area on which the present study seeks to shed light in the context of Spain, and specifically Andalusia, a region hit very hard by the crisis.Objective: To study the impact of the economic crisis starting in 2008 on health, health inequalities and health service utilisation in Spain and Andalusia and the roles of socio-demographic factors in these associations.Methods: Death rates were analysed to study the annual percent change in overall and cause-specific mortality in Spain between 1999 and 2011, and the Longitudinal Database of the Andalusian Population was used to study educational inequalities in overall mortality from 2002 to 2010 (study 1). To calculate suicide attempt rates, information from 2003 to 2012 on 11,494 men and 12,886 women provided by the Health Emergencies Public Enterprise Information System in Andalusia was utilised. The association between unemployment and suicide attempts was studied through linear regression models (study 2). Two waves of the Andalusian Health Survey (2007 and 2011–12) provided data for the third and fourth studies of this thesis. Educational and employment status inequalities in poor mental health in relation with the crisis were analysed through Poisson regression models (study 3). The change in inequalities (pre-crisis–crisis) in health care utilisation outcomes (general practitioner, specialist, hospitalisation and emergency attendance) was measured by the change in horizontal inequality indices. A decomposition analysis of change in inequality between periods was performed using the Oaxaca approach (study 4).Results: Study 1: Overall mortality in Spain decreased steadily during the period, with annual percent changes of -2.44% in men and -2.20% in women. An increase in educational inequality in mortality was observed in men in Andalusia. In women, the inequalities instead remained stable. Suicide mortality showed a downward trend in both sexes in Spain. Study 2: A sharp increase in suicide attempts in Andalusia was detected after the onset of the crisis in both sexes, with adults aged 35 to 54 years being the most affected. Suicide attempts were associated with unemployment rates only in men. Study 3: Poor mental health increased in working individuals with secondary and primary studies during the crisis compared to the pre-crisis period, while it decreased in the university study group. However, in unemployed individuals poor mental health increased only in the secondary studies group. Financial strain could partly explain the crisis effect on mental health among the unemployed. Study 4: Horizontal inequality in utilisation changed to a greater equality or a more pro-poor inequality in both sexes. In the decomposition analysis, socioeconomic position and health status showed greater contributions to the changes in inequalities.Conclusion: This thesis illustrates the complexity of the influences of the current economic crisis on health inequalities in a Southern European region. Specifically, no noticeable effects of the crisis on overall and suicide mortality were detected; instead, increasing educational inequalities in mortality in men and a large increase in suicide attempts in middle aged men and women were observed. The deterioration in poor mental health was mainly detected in those of intermediate educational level. Economic conditions such as unemployment and financial strain proved to be relevant. Finally, in the light of no increased inequalities in healthcare utilisation, the universal coverage health system seems to buffer the deleterious effect of the crisis and austerity policies in this context.