Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Granada, Spain.
Health Policy. 2010 Oct;97(2-3):217-24. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.05.003. Epub 2010 Jun 8.
The aim of this study is to examine the factors driving the demand for drugs in Spain, focusing on the existence of disparities in pharmaceutical consumption between the Spanish and the foreign population.
Our analysis is based on a multilevel multinomial probit model that compares three consumption options (no consumption, prescribed consumption and self-medicated consumption) on the five most consumed drugs in Spain. Data is taken from the adult sample of the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey, including 29,478 individuals over 15 years old.
Overall, the findings show a lower consumption of medicines by some immigrants categories relative to Spaniards. In addition, the results indicate that the consumption of medicines is mainly related to variables associated to the specific cost sharing structure in Spain, such as health limitations and retirement status. Other variables found to explain the demand for drugs were: private health insurance, age, sex, alcohol and cigarette consumption and drug class.
Further understanding of the reasons for the observed differences in drug consumption on the basis of country of birth would allow the health system to design more effective health policies aimed at ensuring equality of access to health resources to all population groups.
本研究旨在探讨西班牙药物需求的驱动因素，重点关注西班牙本地居民和外国居民在药品消费方面存在的差异。
我们的分析基于一个多层多项概率模型，比较了西班牙五种最常消费的药物的三种消费选择（不消费、处方消费和自我用药消费）。数据来自 2006 年西班牙国家健康调查的成年样本，包括 29478 名 15 岁以上的个体。
总体而言，研究结果表明某些移民群体的药品消费相对较低。此外，结果表明，药品消费主要与与西班牙特定费用分担结构相关的变量有关，如健康限制和退休状况。其他被发现可以解释药品需求的变量包括：私人医疗保险、年龄、性别、酒精和香烟消费以及药品类别。
进一步了解基于出生地观察到的药物消费差异的原因，将使卫生系统能够制定更有效的卫生政策，确保所有人群群体都能平等获得卫生资源。
