Abstract

JORRAT, Jorge Raúl; FERNANDEZ, María de las Mercedes  and  MARCONI, Elida H.. Use of and spending in health services by individuals in Argentina in 2005: international comparisons of socio-economic differentials in health. Salud Colectiva [online]. 2008, vol.4, n.1, pp. 57-76. ISSN 1851-8265.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1851-82652008000100004.

This paper, a follow-up to a previous national survey (2003), intends to update the health care services use and expenditure patterns by exploring, as in the past, the social bases for such behaviors. The survey included public policy interest in this regard. The results analyzed, from a national population sample of 1.546 persons aged 0 and older, show that -as expected- health expenditure is significant within total household expenditure and that out-of-pocket-expenses in medication are a very important proportion (40%) of this health expenditure. As a fundamental part of this article, there is a special section on health inequality aspects. The possibility of comparing local results using Japan as a parameter is of unquestionable interest to evaluate socioeconomic differentials in this field. The basic method is similar in both studies, relying on logistic regression equations.

Keywords : Health Care (Public Health); Health Inequalities; Health Expenditures; Financing, Health; Public Policies.