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Impact of Healthcare Resources and Healthcare Systems on Population Health in European Countries
Blekinge Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Economics.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4620-7472
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Background Recently, the demand for care has risen, while in contrast, healthcare resources remain limited. These resources include health expenditure, the number of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. Many studies have revealed that healthcare resources are one of the most critical factors contributing to a population's health status. The healthcare system plays a key role in transforming these resources into health outcomes, which are widely used as indicators to measure population health and the performance of healthcare systems. Previous work has primarily investigated the relationship between health expenditure or the number of doctors and population health. However, the association between healthcare resources as a whole has yet to be widely examined.

Methods This study employed multilevel regression to examine the impact of healthcare resources and healthcare systems on population health across 25 European countries. The healthcare systems of these countries can be broadly categorized into Beveridge-type and Bismarck-type systems. Additionally, this study used descriptive statistics and Welch's t-test to observe the allocation patterns of healthcare resources and to compare the performance of the two types of healthcare systems.

Results The regression analysis indicated that health expenditure per capita and the number of physicians and nurses were positively correlated with life expectancy at birth, while the number of hospital beds was negatively correlated with it. In contrast, infant mortality was negatively associated with health expenditure per capita and the number of physicians and nurses, and positively associated with the number of hospital beds. However, the healthcare systems did not show statistical significance in the models for life expectancy at birth or infant mortality. Welch's t-test revealed that the Beveridge-type healthcare system performed better than the Bismarck-type system.

Conclusions The findings suggest that oversupplying healthcare resources could harm health outcomes. Countries using the same healthcare systems tend to allocate healthcare resources similarly, and these allocations might affect the performance of the healthcare systems. Thus, policymakers should consider this when deciding how to allocate funding to healthcare resources and when selecting or shifting to a healthcare model for their countries.

Keywords [en]
Public health, population health, healthcare system performance, healthcare resources, health outcomes, multilevel regression model
National Category
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:bth-26116OAI: oai:DiVA.org:bth-26116DiVA, id: diva2:1852604
Available from: 2024-04-18 Created: 2024-04-18 Last updated: 2024-04-25Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Enhancing the Performance and Efficiency of Healthcare Systems Using Industrial Economic Principles and Statistical Techniques
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Enhancing the Performance and Efficiency of Healthcare Systems Using Industrial Economic Principles and Statistical Techniques
2024 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Optimizing healthcare systems has become more crucial in recent years due to escalating healthcare demands and economic constraints. This dissertation employed industrial economic principles and advanced statistical methods to analyze the performance and efficiency of healthcare systems in Europe. The study provided a detailed analysis of how healthcare systems can enhance service delivery and maintain cost-effectiveness by integrating industrial economic theories with empirical data. The dissertation was organized into a series of analyses, each focusing on different aspects of healthcare system performance, resource allocation, operational efficiency, and forecasting future health demands, as well as evaluating the accuracy of these forecasting models. Statistical techniques such as time series and multilevel regression analyses were used to examine the interplay between healthcare resources, healthcare systems, and health outcomes across European nations. The two main healthcare models in Europe, the Beveridge and Bismarck models, were compared in terms of performance, efficiency, and resource allocation. The main findings revealed that effective resource allocation and efficient management practices can significantly enhance the performance of healthcare systems. The study indicated that a healthcare system's efficiency depends on its ability to adjust resource allocation to changes in demographic and economic conditions. Additionally, this dissertation forecasted future demands for healthcare services, social security benefits, and pensions by incorporating macro-level determinants such as economic growth, unemployment rates, and population density into the forecasting models. The accuracy of these models provided valuable insights for policymakers to effectively plan for future healthcare, social security, and pension needs. Moreover, this dissertation employed an economic evaluation to compare the cost-effectiveness of Beveridge-type and Bismarck-type healthcare systems over the past twenty years. An effectiveness ratio was applied to measure the relationship between inputs (medical spending) and outputs (health outcomes). These effectiveness ratios demonstrated which healthcare system yields better health outcomes for each dollar spent. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the efficiency of healthcare systems varies from country to country, highlighting the challenges of adopting a universal approach to healthcare policy. This dissertation contributes to the academic field by demonstrating how industrial economic principles can be applied to improve the performance and efficiency of healthcare systems. It offered a framework for evaluating healthcare performance and efficiency, which can inform future reforms to achieve sustainable, high-quality healthcare services. This study promotes a dynamic approach to healthcare planning that adapts to technological advancements and demographic changes to enhance population health. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, 2024. p. 370
Series
Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series, ISSN 1653-2090 ; 10
Keywords
Healthcare system efficiency, industrial economics, performance measurement, healthcare resource allocation, healthcare model comparison, forecasting healthcare demand
National Category
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-26122 (URN)978-91-7295-483-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2024-06-13, J1630, Blekinge Institute of Technology, 371 79 Karlskrona, Karlskrona, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2024-04-19 Created: 2024-04-18 Last updated: 2024-05-23Bibliographically approved

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