Publication: Introducing the World Bank’s 2018 Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators Database
Loading...
Date
2018-10-22
ISSN
Published
2018-10-22
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Among the many shifts of emphasis that have been evident in global health over the past twenty-five years or so, two stand out: a concern over the poor lagging behind the better off in progress towards global goals; and a concern to look beyond whether people get the services they need to the affordability of the out-of-pocket expenditures associated with these services. The World Bank's 2018 Health equity and financial protection indicators (HEFPI) database is a new global resource for tracking progress on both fronts. It is, in effect, the fourth in the series of such databases. The 2018 database includes eighteen indicators of service use (twelve preventative, six curative) and twenty-eight health outcome indicators. The data are calculated from household surveys, identified mostly through searches of data catalogues and websites of multicountry survey initiatives. The 2018 HEFPI dataset is freely downloadable, and a data visualisation tool is also available. To ensure the data are reproducible, and in line with the guidelines for accurate and transparent health estimates reporting, the authors document their methods thoroughly in a working paper and highlight the differences between their definitions and others; They also provide the essential computer code used to produce the estimates.
Link to Data Set
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The 2018 Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators Database(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-10)The 2018 database on Health Equity and Financial Protection indicators provides data on equity in the delivery of health service interventions and health outcomes, and on financial protection in health. This paper provides a brief history of the database, gives an overview of the contents of the 2018 version of the database, and then gets into the details of the construction of its two sides -- the health equity side and the financial protection side. The paper also provides illustrative uses of the database, including the extent of and trends in inequity in maternal and child health intervention coverage, the extent of inequities in women's cancer screening and inpatient care utilization, and trends and inequalities in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures.Publication The 2019 Update of the Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators Database(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06)This paper outlines changes that have been made in the 2019 version of the Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators database. On the financial protection side, the changes include an increase in the number of indicators from five to 14; revisions to several previous data points, reflecting the analysis of new surveys (or adaptations thereof); and refinements to the estimation of out-of-pocket expenditures. On the health equity side, the 2019 database includes 198 more data points than the 9,733 in the 2018 database, reflecting the addition of 535 new datapoints, and the dropping of 337 previously included data points now considered to be substandard.Publication The 2022 Update of the Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators Database(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-12)This paper outlines changes that have been made for the third version of the World Bank’s Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators (HEFPI) database launched in 2022. Across all indicators, subpopulation breakdowns by urban and rural place of residence and subnational region were added. On the financial protection side, the number of indicators further expanded to 31, reflecting a broadening of the definition of medical impoverishment from being limited to those pushed below the poverty line by medical spending to also include those already under the poverty line who incur any medical spending, that is, those ‘further impoverished’ by medical spending. The additional financial protection indicators also include indicators that show the intersection of catastrophic and impoverishing health spending, that is, identify the populations exposed to both types of financial hardship simultaneously. The health equity side of the database now includes 19,820 country-level data points from 1,318 surveys across 35 service coverage and 38 health outcome indicators. An upgraded data visualization portal was launched alongside the new dataset.Publication Progress on Impoverishing Health Spending in 122 Countries(Elsevier, 2017-12-13)The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) requires that families who get needed health care do not suffer financial hardship as a result. This can be measured by instances of impoverishment, when a household's consumption including out-of-pocket spending on health is more than the poverty line but its consumption, excluding out-of-pocket spending, is less than the poverty line. This links UHC directly to the policy goal of reducing poverty. We find impoverishment due to out-of-pocket spending even in countries where the entire population is officially covered by a health insurance scheme or by national or subnational health services. Incidence is negatively correlated with the share of total health spending channelled through social security funds and other government agencies. Out-of-pocket spending on health can add to the poverty head count and the depth of poverty by diverting household spending from non-health budget items. The scale of such impoverishment varies between countries and depends on the poverty line but might in some low-income countries account for as much as four percentage points of the poverty head count. Increasing the share of total health expenditure that is prepaid, especially through taxes and mandatory contributions, can help reduce impoverishment.Publication Progress on Catastrophic Health Spending in 133 Countries(Elsevier, 2018-02)The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) requires inter alia that families who get needed health care do not suffer undue financial hardship as a result. This can be measured by the percentage of people in households whose out-of-pocket health expenditures are large relative to their income or consumption. We aimed to estimate the global incidence of catastrophic health spending, trends between 2000 and 2010, and associations between catastrophic health spending and macroeconomic and health system variables at the country level.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.