The Stratifying Effect of Healthcare Systems. An International Comparison of Inequalities in Healthcare Utilization and Quality of Life

Research question/goal: 

Disparities in health are a persistent form of stratification in all societies. This project examines the relationship between the healthcare system and inequalities in health within and between advanced industrialized societies. It argues that the institutional structure of the healthcare system is and important determinant of inequalities in health. The study combines institutional information on healthcare systems with data on population health (from OECD health data) and individual health status (from survey data).

Current stage: 

A comparative analysis of population health across 21 OECD countries showed that the healthcare system is one major driver for international inequalities in health. The next step of the study focuses on the investigation of the effect of the healthcare system on inequalities. As a 2012-2013 Harkness Fellow in Healthcare Policy and Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health, Nadine Reibling conducts an analysis on the effect of primary care on inequalities in healthcare utilization and health using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for the US and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement (SHARE) for European countries.

Fact sheet

Funding: 
CDSS, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
Duration: 
2009 to 2013
Status: 
ongoing
Data Sources: 
Comparative survey data, institutional data on health systems
Geographic Space: 
Europe, US

Publications

Journal Articles

Reibling, Nadine, and Claus Wendt (2012): Gatekeeping and Provider Choice in OECD Healthcare Systems. Current Sociology, 60, issue 4, p. 489-505. more
Reibling, Nadine, and Claus Wendt (2011): Regulating patients’ access to healthcare services. International Journal of Public and Private Healthcare Management and Economics, 1, issue 2, p. 1-16. more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Healthcare systems in Europe: Towards an incorporation of patient access. Journal of European Social Policy, issue 20 (1), p. 5-18. more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Moderne Gesundheitssysteme zwischen Ergebnis- und Chancengleichheit: Ein Vergleich der aktuellen gesundheitspolitischen Entwicklung in Deutschland, Frankreich, und England. Das Gesundheitswesen, 72, issue 08/09, p. P34. more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Ursache oder Therapie: Welche Rolle spielt die medizinische Versorgung bei der Erklärung sozial bedingter Gesundheitsungleichheit?. Das Gesundheitswesen, 72, issue 08/09, p. V56. more
Reibling, Nadine, and Claus Wendt (2009): Gesundheitszustand und Nutzung von Gesundheitsleistungen im europäischen Vergleich. Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, 55, issue 4, p. 329-346. more

Conference Presentations

Reibling, Nadine (2010): Changing Healthcare Systems - Changing Health Inequalities?. [SFB 597 Workshop: Evaluating Health Care System Performance: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations, Bremen, December 02nd to December 03rd, 2010] more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Cure or Catalyst: How the Healthcare System Affects Health Inequalities. [XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology, Göteborg, July 11th to July 17th, 2010] more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Moderne Gesundheitssysteme zwischen Ergebnis- und Chancengleichheit: Ein Vergleich der aktuellen gesundheitspolitischen Entwicklung in Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien. [35. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Frankfurt, October 11th to October 15th, 2010] more
Reibling, Nadine (2010): Welche Rolle spielen strukturelle, kulturelle und psychosoziale Faktoren bei der Erklärung gesundheitlicher Ungleichheit? Mechanismen im Ländervergleich. [35. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Frankfurt, October 11th to October 15th, 2010] more