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Research Question: We analyzed two questions. First, the effectiveness of public Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in Spain compared with private ones, measured by the time since initiating ART treatment until achieving pregnancy, accounting for age and socioeconomic factors. Second, socioeconomic determinants of access to ART, referring primarily to financial means derived by employment, income, and wealth., Design: We applied statistical models on data extracted from the national Spanish Fertility Survey from 2018. The first topic was analyzed by competing risk survival analysis conducted on a sample of 667 women who initiate ART treatment since 2000. The second, by a Bivariate Probit model conducted on a sample of 672 women older than 41 years who required ART services., Results: The first analysis raised that throughout the treatment, patients treated exclusively in private clinics had on average a higher cumulative incidence of becoming pregnant compared with patients who approached public clinics. The second analysis raised that both higher household equivalent income and higher education increase the likelihood of accessing ART in a private clinic and decrease the tendency of accessing public clinics or failing to access any service. Moreover, being single decreases the likelihood of accessing public clinics or ART services in general., Conclusions: Long waiting periods could be the main reason for the lower incidence of getting pregnant in public healthcare, explaining why patients choose private over public care. We develop a broader discussion over the extent of Spanish public funding of ART, the unequal medical outcome, and potential options for optimization.

Objective: To measure and assess differences by educational level in the place of death for cancer patients, and to determine whether patterns of geographical disparities are associated with access to palliative care services in the municipality of residence., Method: We analysed the death certificates of adults (older than 24) who died of cancer (ICD-10 C00 to C97) in Spain during 2015, either at home, in hospital or in a long-term care centre. Of the 105,758 individuals included in the study population, 75.2% lived in one of the 746 identifiable municipalities (more than 10,000 inhabitants). This individual database was combined with three economic databases at municipal level and with a directory of palliative care resources published by the Sociedad Española de Cuidados Paliativos. Multilevel models were estimated to predict the place of death according to individual characteristics. Generalised least squares regression models were then applied to the municipal effects estimated in the first stage., Results: The probability of dying in long-term care centre decreases as levels of education increase; the probability of dying at home, rather than in hospital, is higher for patients with higher education. Dying in hospital is an urban phenomenon. There are large differences between Spanish regions. Access to palliative services is only of marginal significance in accounting for the systematic differences observed between municipalities., Conclusions: Developing specific plans for palliative care, with an active role being played by primary care teams, may help improve end-of-life care in Spain., (Copyright © 2018 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Adult oral health is predicted by oral health in childhood. Prevention improves oral health in childhood and, consequently in adulthood, so substantial cost savings can be derived from prevention. The burden of oral disease is particularly high for disadvantaged and poor population groups in both developing and developed countries. Therefore, an appropriate and egalitarian access to dental care becomes a desirable objective if children's dental health is to be promoted irrespective of socioeconomic status. The aim of this research is to analyse inequalities in the lack of access to dental care services for children in the Spanish National Health System by socio-economic group over the period 1987-2011., Methods: Pooled data from eight editions of the Spanish National Health Survey for the years 1987-2011, as well as contextual data on state dental programmes are used. Logistic regressions are used to examine the related factors to the probability of not having ever visited the dentist among children between 6 and 14 years old. Our lack of access variable pays particular attention to the socioeconomic level of children's household., Results: The mean probability of having never been to the dentist falls considerably from 49.5% in 1987 to 8.4% in 2011. Analysis by socioeconomic level indicates that, in 1987, the probability of not having ever gone to the dentist is more than two times higher for children in the unskilled manual social class than for those in the upper non-manual social class (odds ratio 2.35). And this difference is not reduced significantly throughout the period analysed, rather it increases as in 1993 (odds of 2.39) and 2006 (odds of 3.03) to end in 2011 slightly below than in 1987 (odds ratio 1.80)., Conclusion: There has been a reduction in children's lack of access to dentists in Spain over the period 1987-2011. However, this reduction has not corrected the socioeconomic inequalities in children's access to dentists in Spain.

In countries with publicly financed health care systems, waiting time--rather than price--is the rationing mechanism for access to health care services. The normative statement underlying such a rationing device is that patients should wait according to need and irrespective of socioeconomic status or other non-need characteristics. The aim of this paper is to test empirically that waiting times for publicly funded specialist care do not depend on patients' socioeconomic status. Waiting times for specialist care can vary according to the type of medical specialty, type of consultation (review or diagnosis) and the region where patients' reside. In order to take into account such variability, we use Bayesian random parameter models to explain waiting times for specialist care in terms of need and non-need variables. We find that individuals with lower education and income levels wait significantly more time than their counterparts.

Objectives: To evaluate the long term impact on fairness of children's dental care programmes., Methods: Data were taken from the Health Module of the Spanish Disability Interview Survey in 1999 (n=8,049). The probability of visit to a dentist and the number of visits are estimated with binary logistic models and count data models in order to compare the regions with consolidated dental care programmes, PADI regions, with the rest of Spanish regions. The effects of family income, residential status and living in small village settings on dental care access for both regions are investigated and compared., Results: The scope of the dental care programme (PADI) makes a very significant difference. Regions with consolidated PADI are by far more equitable than the rest. Once the other explanatory factors have been controlled, the percentage of users is by far larger in PADI regions, odds ratio 3.47 (95% CI 2.38 to 5.07). In PADI regions family income doesn't have any significance in the probability of visits to the dentist, odds ratio 1.9 (95% confidence interval 0.92 to 1.81). In non PADI regions poorer families have less probability of visiting a dentist, odds ratio 1.68 (95% CI 1.50 to 1.88). In addition, in each region, inequalities discriminating against those children that live in small villages cannot be found in PADI regions., Conclusions: PADI regions have more equity in access to dental care. The PADI programme managed to drop any income base discrimination in access and succeeded in equalizing access in small villages and in urban areas. The use of dental services is very unequal among the population. Public dental care programmes for children equalize utilization and strongly contribute to improving children's oral health.

Background: The objective of this research is to analyse trends in horizontal inequity in access to public health services by immigration condition in Spain throughout the period 2006–2017. We focus on "economic immigrants" because they are potentially the most vulnerable group amongst immigrants. Methods: Based on the National Health Surveys of 2006–07 (N = 29,478), 2011–12 (N = 20,884) and 2016–17 (N = 22,903), hierarchical logistic regressions with random effects in Spain's autonomous communities are estimated to explain the probability of using publicly-financed health care services by immigrant condition, controlling by health care need and other socioeconomic and demographic variables. Results: Our results indicate that there are several horizontal inequities, though they changed throughout the decade studied. Regarding primary care services, the period starts (2006–07) with no global evidence of horizontal inequity in access (although the analysis by continent shows inequity that is detrimental to Eastern Europeans and Asians), giving way to inequity favouring economic immigrants (particularly Latin Americans and Africans) in 2011–12 and 2016–17. An opposite trend happens with specialist care, as the period starts (2006–07) with evidence of inequity that is detrimental to economic immigrants (particularly those from North of Africa) but this inequity disappears with the economic crisis and after it (with the only exception of Eastern Europeans in 2011–12, whose probability to visit a specialist is lower than for natives). Regarding emergency care, our evidence indicates horizontal inequity in access that favours economic immigrants (particularly Latin Americans and North Africans) that remains throughout the period. In general, there is no inequity in hospitalisations, with the exception of 2011–12, where inequity in favour of economic immigrants (particularly those from Latin America) takes place. Conclusions: The results obtained here may serve, firstly, to prevent alarm about negative discrimination of economic immigrants in their access to public health services, even after the implementation of the Royal Decree RD Law 16/2012. Conversely, our results suggest that the horizontal inequity in access to specialist care that was found to be detrimental to economic immigrants in 2006–07, disappeared in global terms in 2011–12 and also by continent of origin in 2016–17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]