Publication:
Forgone Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2020 and 2021 Survey Trends from 25 Developing Countries

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dc.contributor.authorKakietek, Jakub
dc.contributor.authorEberwein, Julia Dayton
dc.contributor.authorKerr, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorStacey, Nicholas
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-10T19:48:10Z
dc.date.available2023-08-10T19:48:10Z
dc.date.issued2023-08-10
dc.description.abstractDuring the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, health system disruptions, fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, mobility restrictions and lockdowns, and reduced household incomes likely contributed to households forgoing needed health care. Using repeated measures collected with a standardized instrument over two time periods in 25 countries and roughly 63,000 households, this analysis documents how the prevalence of forgone health care and its drivers changed between the early period of the pandemic in 2020 and the first half of 2021. In 2020, in the pooled sample, 17.9 percent of households reported not being able to obtain needed health care. Reported prevalence of forgone care was 15.6 percent in low-income countries (LICs), 17.0 percent in lower-middle income countries (LMICs), and 20.5 percent in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) included in the sample. In early 2021, the prevalence of forgone care was lower: 10.3 percent of the households in the pooled sample that reported needing care were not able to obtain it. The prevalence of forgone care was 7.9 percent in LICs, 15.1 percent in LMICs, and 5.3 percent in UMICs. Financial barriers were the main reason households reported for not obtaining needed health care; and among households forgoing care, the share that did so for financial reasons remained similar between the two time periods: 42 percent in 2020 and 45 percent in 2021 (a statistically insignificant change). This study is a comprehensive analysis of the changes in forgone care in low- and middle-income countries. It documents the predominance of financial barriers among those who could not obtain needed health care, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries as compared to upper-middle-income countries. Given the uneven recovery from the COVID19 pandemic and the deepening economic crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is likely that financial barriers to obtaining health care will persist and perhaps increase, potentially jeopardizing progress toward achieving universal health coverage.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099080923034535290/P1743380db1b4300a09e95084786f229859
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/40175
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40175
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.rightsCC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
dc.subjectCOVID-19
dc.subjectHEALTHCARE
dc.subjectFINANCIAL BARRIERS
dc.subjectACCESS TO HEALTHCARE
dc.titleForgone Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemicen
dc.title.subtitle2020 and 2021 Survey Trends from 25 Developing Countriesen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleForgone Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2020 and 2021 Survey Trends from 25 Developing Countries
okr.date.disclosure2023-08-10
okr.date.lastmodified2023-08-09T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099080923034535290/P1743380db1b4300a09e95084786f229859
okr.guid099080923034535290
okr.identifier.docmidP174338-db1b43a9-4e55-4e0a-9e95-84786f229859
okr.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1596/40175
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34132125
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34132125
okr.identifier.report184470
okr.import.id1447
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099080923034535290/pdf/P1743380db1b4300a09e95084786f229859.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalWorld
okr.sectorHealth-HG
okr.themeHealth Systems and Policies,Gender,Human Development and Gender,Health Finance,Disease Control,Health System Strengthening,Pandemic Response
okr.topicHealth, Nutrition and Population::Health Economics & Finance
okr.topicHealth, Nutrition and Population::Health Insurance
okr.unitHNP GFF Program (HHNGF)
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