Table 2.
Observed Inequalities in Waiting Times by Country and Health Care Service.
| Author, year | Country | Population | Key waiting-time findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elective surgery | |||
| Registry data | |||
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2017)29 | Australia | n = 11 000 000 hospitalizations | Lowest SES 9 d > highest SES Public 21 d > private Indigenous 8 d > non-Indigenous |
| Cooper et al (2009)64 | United Kingdom | n = 427 277 knee n = 406 253 hip n = 2 568 318 cataract From 1997-2007 |
1997-2000 (2005-2007) β coefficient (95% CI) knee, hip replacements and cataract repair between first and fifth deprivation quintiles: 6.23 (2.30-10.17) vs −2.74 (−4.99 to −0.99), 19.73 (16.33-23.12) vs 2.12 (0.23-4.02), 3.97 (2.78-5.16) vs −3.52 (−3.90 to −3.13) |
| Laudicella et al (2012)80 | United Kingdom | n = 33 709 hip surgery, England 2001 | Fourth and fifth lowest SES quintiles waited 6.51% and 7.45% longer than those in the first quintile, respectively. |
| Moscelli et al (2018)58 | United Kingdom | n ≥ 320 000 PCI and CABG patients, 2002-2011 | Difference between lowest and highest SES PCI (CABG) in years post 2005 (2007) minimum 10% (12%) |
| Tinghög et al (2014)82 | Sweden | n = 417 vascular n = 990 orthopedic n = 357 gynecology n = 204 urology n = 1792 ophthalmology n = 874 general surgery 2007 data |
Mean wait orthopedic: lowest 1/3 SES 150.6 d, highest 1/3
SES 143.2 d Mean wait general surgery: lowest 1/3 SES 139.2 d, highest 1/3 SES 125.5 d No significant differences for other surgeries. |
| Primary and specialist care | |||
| Registry data | |||
| Kaarboe et al (2014)18 | Norway | n = 611 414 2004-2005 |
Lowest SES men (women) wait 24% (11%) longer than highest
SES. Nil significant difference when hospital choice controls applied |
| Self-reported data | |||
| Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017)72 | Australia | n = 28 243 | 21% of lowest SES reported waiting longer than acceptable for GP appointment, 17% of highest SES |
| Hajizadeh (2018)59 | Canada | n = 266 962 2000/2001, 2003, 2005, 2010 |
Negative association between SES status and instance of not receiving care due to wait-time RC = −0.039 (95% CI = −0.049 to −0.028), AC = −0.067 (95% CI = −0.086 to −0.049]. |
| Siciliani and Verzulli (2009)37 | 10 000 Euro increase in salary, high education vs low education | ||
| Austria | n = 126 | 0.027 wk shorter wait (P > .05), 0.42 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| Denmark | n = 80 | 0.22 wk shorter wait (P > .05), 0.826 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| France | n = 147 | 0.021 wk shorter wait (P > .05), 1.03 wk shorter wait (P < .1) | |
| Greece | n = 85 | 0.046 wk shorter wait (P > .05), 0.34 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| Germany | n = 371 | 0.15 wk shorter wait (P < .01), 0.061 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| Italy | n = 180 | 0.083 wk longer wait (P > .05), 2.16 wk longer wait (P > .05) | |
| Netherlands | n = 268 | 0.043 wk longer wait (P > .05), 0.34 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| Spain | n = 186 | 0.071 wk longer wait (P > .05), 3.55 wk shorter wait (P < .05) | |
| Sweden | n = 220 | 0.98 wk longer wait (P < .05), 0.36 wk shorter wait (P > .05) | |
| Waiting room time | |||
| Self-reported data | |||
| Jowsey et al (2018)68 | Australia | n = 427 diabetic, n = 681 COPD | Diabetic, COPD median (95% CI) = 1.7 (1.4-1.9), 3.0 (2.5-3.5) h each month, positive relationship between number of chronic diseases and monthly reported clinic time |
| Ray et al (2015)63 | United States | n = 3787 | Median (95% CI) min: Caucasian 80 (78-83) African American 99 (92-106) Hispanic 105 (97-113) <high school education, lowest income 91 (87-95), 80 (72-88) Graduate school, highest income 76 (71-72), 72 (65-78) |
| Allied health/multidisciplinary | |||
| Database data | |||
| Deslauriers et al (2019)78 | Canada | n = 3665 patients waiting for multidisciplinary pain treatment facility | Significant negative association between household income and waiting time (standardized β coefficient = −0.076) |
| Kirkbride et al (2017)45 | England | n = 798 patients waiting for early intervention psychosis services | No association between waiting time and sociodemographic status |
| Marzolini et al (2015)44 | Canada | n = 6497 patients attending cardiac rehabilitation | Neighborhood SES and waiting time (d) association: −0.80 (P < .001) |
| Self-reported data | |||
| Gallego et al (2017)79 | Australia | n = 166 carers of people with disability in rural areas | Mean (no SD) waiting time |
| Speech pathology | 6.6 mo | ||
| Occupational therapy | 5.6 mo | ||
| Psychology | 4.7 mo | ||
| Physiotherapy | 4.5 mo | ||
Note. SES = socioeconomic status; CI = confidence interval; PCI = percutaneous coronary intervention; CABG = coronary artery bypass surgery; GP = general practitioner; RC = relative concentration index; AC = absolute concentration index; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.