Michael Hummer,
"Socioeconomic determinants of screening test participation"
, 8-2009
Original Titel:
Socioeconomic determinants of screening test participation
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
Participation in regular health screening is expected to improve individuals' health
and to reduce health expenditure. However, the crucial question is whether screening
can deliver the expected benefits. In order to answer this question, it is firstly
indispensable to determine whether screening participants represent a selected sample.
Because selection impedes the identification of causal effects of screening on
health and economic outcomes. Moreover, selection carries important implications
for health authorities regarding access to health services. Using individual-level data
of Voralberg and Upper-Austria I find that people with higher socio-economic status have a
higher propensity to participate in screening. Thus, self-selection into the
Austrian screening program exist. In addition, I provide first descriptive results that
suggest that screeners may not be healthier and do not create lower health expenditure.
The concluding chapter present a research strategy that aims at identifying the causal effcts of screening on economic and health outcomes.