Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Comparative Politics

News

New HEALTHDOX Research: “Cognitive Determinants of Healthcare Evaluations – A Comparison of Eastern and Western European Countries”

January 24th 2018

by Simone Schneider and Tamara Popic

Knowing the public opinion of healthcare is essential when assessing healthcare system performance; but little research has focussed on the links between the public’s general attitude to the healthcare system and its perceptions and expectations of specific healthcare-related aspects. Using data from the fourth round of the European Social Survey 2008/09, we explored whether healthcare evaluations follow a consistent cognitive reasoning. We seek to understand the extent to which evaluations of healthcare services are determined by three cognitive factors: (i) perceptions of the performance of the healthcare system in terms of efficiency, equality, and population health; (ii) expectations of the government’s role in providing healthcare; and (iii) reflections on demographic pressures, i.e. the burden on healthcare of an aging society. Secondly, we investigate the extent to which these cognitive components explain differences in the healthcare evaluations of Eastern and Western Europeans.

We found that healthcare evaluations follow a coherent cognitive reasoning. Individuals base their evaluations on their perceptions of the performance of the healthcare system (i.e. efficiency, equality, health outcomes), their expectations of the government’s role in providing healthcare, and their understanding of demographic pressures. While all factors seem relevant, the perception of the efficiency of the system and equality of health treatment are the most important components influencing healthcare evaluations across European countries. Contrary to the general assumption that normative expectations are responsible for differences in healthcare evaluations between Eastern and Western Europe, the results suggest that regional differences are largely due to a more negative perception of the performance of healthcare systems within Eastern Europe. Eastern Europeans are more critical as they perceive their systems as less efficient and more unequal in terms of treatment. To improve the public’s general attitude to the healthcare system, policy makers should pay particular attention to the improvement of healthcare system efficiency without sacrificing equality.

To access the full article, click here.


New HEALTHDOX Publication – “Accessing Healthcare in Times of Economic Growth and Economic Downturn: Evidence from Ireland”

January 15th 2018

by Simone Schneider and Camilla Devitt

Knowing the public opinion of healthcare is essential when assessing healthcare system performance; but little research has focussed on the links between the public’s general attitude to the healthcare system and its perceptions and expectations of specific healthcare-related aspects. Using data from the fourth round of the European Social Survey 2008/09, we explored whether healthcare evaluations follow a consistent cognitive reasoning. We seek to understand the extent to which evaluations of healthcare services are determined by three cognitive factors: (i) perceptions of the performance of the healthcare system in terms of efficiency, equality, and population health; (ii) expectations of the government’s role in providing healthcare; and (iii) reflections on demographic pressures, i.e. the burden on healthcare of an aging society. Secondly, we investigate the extent to which these cognitive components explain differences in the healthcare evaluations of Eastern and Western Europeans.

We found that healthcare evaluations follow a coherent cognitive reasoning. Individuals base their evaluations on their perceptions of the performance of the healthcare system (i.e. efficiency, equality, health outcomes), their expectations of the government’s role in providing healthcare, and their understanding of demographic pressures. While all factors seem relevant, the perception of the efficiency of the system and equality of health treatment are the most important components influencing healthcare evaluations across European countries. Contrary to the general assumption that normative expectations are responsible for differences in healthcare evaluations between Eastern and Western Europe, the results suggest that regional differences are largely due to a more negative perception of the performance of healthcare systems within Eastern Europe. Eastern Europeans are more critical as they perceive their systems as less efficient and more unequal in terms of treatment. To improve the public’s general attitude to the healthcare system, policy makers should pay particular attention to the improvement of healthcare system efficiency without sacrificing equality.

To access the full article, go to here.

 


Fourth Healthdox Workshop

November 9-11th 2017, Florence, Italy

Our fourth Healthdox Workshop meeting took place in Florence, Italy from November 9 to 11.

Read more about the event here.


Second wave of our Survey on "Private or Public Health Care? Evaluation, Attitudes, and Social Solidarity" accepted for inclusion in SOEP-IS 2017

March 3rd, 2017

Diana Burlacu and Ellen Immergut (HEALTHDOX Germany) had successfully applied for having their survey questions on individual satisfaction with the health system and health solidarity included again in the Innovation Sample of the Socio-Economic Panel Study in Germany. Examining respondents’ answers in 2015, researchers have found differences between those who are privately and publicly insured in terms of both satisfaction and solidarity with the public provision of health care, and changes in public opinion after the 2015 reform. These results are discussed at length in different articles, one of them co-authored with Maria Oskarson and Björn Ronnerstrand (Healthdox Sweden) accepted already for publication in the journal of Social Policy and Administration.

Researchers have nevertheless concluded that a second wave is needed for determining whether there is a causal relationship between health insurance, evaluations of health system and solidarity and the initial results were not simple correlations. With the newly accepted wave, Diana Burlacu and Ellen Immergut can provide a clearer answer to these questions in 2018 when the survey field ends.

Read more about SOEP and the Innovation Sample here.


Research Visit

February, 2017, Berlin

Andra Roescu (Healthdox UK) came to Berlin to work with Diana Burlacu (Healthdox Germany) on their research on public responsiveness and health reforms. Their focus in the first stage is on the 2006 reform in the Netherlands. In the second stage they plan to extend the research to other countries and reforms. The results of the analysis from the first stage will be presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in April in Chicago.  Together with Ellen Immergut, Andra and Diana also discussed the management of our dataset.


Fifth Healthdox Meeting

February 22-24th, Gothenburg, Sweden

Our fifth meeting took place in Gothenburg during the Norface Thematic Workshop on welfare state attitudes, organized by our colleagues, Maria Oskarson and Björn Ronnerstrand (Healthdox Sweden).

Read more about the event here.


Research Visit

November, 2016, Southampton

Diana Burlacu (Healthdox Germany) spent a week at the University of Southampton working with Andra Roescu (Healthdox UK). The two researchers reviewed and discussed the literature on health care policies and public opinion. Their critical overview will be included in one of the introductory chapters of the HEALTHDOX Handbook.


Fourth Healthdox Meeting

October 5th, 2016, Mannheim, Germany

Healthdox researchers met again for their fourth meeting, this time during one of the Norface Thematic Workshops.

Read more about the event here.


Annual ESPAnet Conference

September 1-3rd, 2016, Rotterdam

Prof. Ellen Immergut (Healthdox Germany) was one of the keynote speakers at the Annual ESPAnet Conference. She gave a comparative overview of the change in pension systems due to developments on the labor markets, labor organizations, in working life and demographic changes. Other Healthdox researchers, Diana Burlacu, Tamara Popovici, Maria Asensio and Björn Rönnerstrand  also presented papers on health systems and public attitudes towards the health system. See the full program of the conference here.


Public seminar with policy makers organized by the Swedish Minister of Civil Affairs

July 6th, 2016, Sweden

Paula Blomqvist (Healthdox Sweden) presented her research on the Swedish health system at a Public Seminar by the Minister of Civil Affairs in front of 100 policy makers, civil servants, journalists and the general public.


HEALTHDOX Post-Doc Meeting 

June 15th 2016, Berlin

HEALTHDOX Postdocs Diana Burlacu, Tamara Popic, Andra Roescu, Ave Roots, and Simone Schneider met with PI Maria Oskarsson to discuss our coding scheme for our health reform data set, as well as our Handbook introductory chapters and our health and health attitudes indicators for our macro-data set. The group reported the results to Ellen Immergut on June 16th in conjunction with the two Thematic Workshops that were being held at Humboldt University on the same day:  Dynamic Panel models and a Journal Special Issue preparation meeting


Nordic Cases Meeting

June 14th, 2016, Stockholm

The PI’s and Cooperation Partners concerned with the Nordic health systems—Paula Blomqvist, Ulrika Winblad and Maria Oskarsson (Sweden), Sigrun Olafsdottir (Iceland), Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen (Finland) and Karsten Vrangbaek (Denmark)—met with Ellen Immergut to go through the country case chapter drafts and to finalize the chapter outlines.  We also discussed the comparative data that we will use to frame the cases, and the data input templates.  Meri Koivusalo (Finland) and Ånen Ringard could not attend but will receive the updates from the meeting.


Media Interview

June 11th, 2016, Postimees Estonia

The Estonian Postimees Newspaper, the newspaper with the largest circulation in the Baltic region, has consulted our researcher Raul Allan Kiivet for comments on the European health care statistics regarding Estonia. See the article here.


Research Visit

April-May, 2016, Dublin

Tamara Popic (Healthdox Portugal) visited the Trinity College Dublin for collaboration with Simone Schneider (Healthdox Ireland) for writing and discussing comparatively the health care attitudes in Eastern and Western Europe. The results of their research were presented at the the 3rd International ESS Conference, Lausanne, July 2016 and the ESPAnet conference in Rotterdam, September 2016.


Research Visit

January-February, 2016, Berlin

Björn Rönnerstrand (Healthdox Sweden) made a research visit to Humboldt University in Berlin for collaboration with Ellen Immergut and Diana Burlacu (both Healthdox Germany). During the visit, they have researched how reforms in Sweden and Germany impact public satisfaction with the health system. The results will be published in the journal of Social Policy and Administration (more detailed to follow after publication). Björn and Diana had also developed their research on corruption within the health system and individual satisfaction with the system. The results from this research were presented at the ESPAnet conference in Rotterdam, September 2016.


Third Workshop

March 9-11th 2015

The third Healthdox workshop took place in Berlin, March 9-11th 2016, with all team members and several collaborators present at the event.

Read more about the event here.


Prof Immergut featured in Horizon magazin

January 27th 2015

The Horizon magazine, European Union’s Research and Innovation Magazine has published the article “Whats the future of the welfare state” which features Prof Immergut’s work for Welfare State Futures and HEALTHDOX.

Click here to read the entire article.


Second Workshop

October 29th/30th 2015

At the second project meeting the project team had been completed, with all 6 postdoctoral researchers participating together with the PIs, research assistants and students from the “Public opinion and the welfare state”, coordinated by Diana Burlacu at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Read more about the event here.


Survey Proposal included in SOEP-IS

March 30th 2015

Our proposed survey questions on satisfaction with the health care system and attitudes towards universal health care has been selected in a competitive refereed process and will be included in the German Socio-Economic Panel study in 2016 as part of the Innovation Sample. The SOEP study is a longitudinal study in Germany with nearly 11,000 households and about 30,000 persons sampled every year. Once the data available in April 2016, Healthdox researchers can examine how/whether satisfaction with different areas of the health care system conditions individuals’ support for universal health care provision.

Read more about SOEP and the Innovation Sample here.


Kick Off Meeting

March 26th/27th 2015

One month after the official start of the project, the Healthdox team met in Berlin.

Read more about the event here.