Key concepts for measuring equity in health care access for older people
Regular measurement and monitoring of health system performance is essential for countries to progressively advance universal health coverage (UHC). However, older people may be left behind because their healthcare needs are not being adequately considered in monitoring global progress towards UHC.
During April 2020 to May 2021, the WHO Kobe Centre, in partnership with researchers at the University of Sheffield, University of Liverpool and Osaka University, undertook a scoping review to see how equity in health care access and service coverage of older people should be measured.
The findings showed that it is particularly important to pay attention to older people’s complex care needs, capacity to make decisions and accessibility of services. Even in Japan which has universal health and long-term care insurance, several studies have revealed, for example, regional disparities in availability of services that older people need.
The scoping review found several concepts in common with current UHC monitoring frameworks such as availability, affordability and quality of services. As there is no consensus on the exact measurements to be used for these concepts, countries can develop locally relevant indicators of equity in service coverage for older populations that can be incorporated into UHC monitoring.
For key findings, read the Evidence Summary.
Read more about this project here.