Demanda por serviços de saúde e saúde autoavaliada: desigualdades regionais em perspectivas comparativas

Abstract

The way the individual perceives his own health status can influence the demand for care related to his own health. In this sense, the present study seeks to analyze the relationships between demographic, socioeconomic and health characteristics of the population, and the demand for health services in Brazil, comparing the effects of the variables used at regional and state levels. To this end, the two existing versions of the health survey carried out at national level were used, the PNS 2013 and 2019. The empirical strategy adopted consisted of using the instrumental variables estimator, so that the estimation was performed in two stages. First, using an urban infrastructure indicator as an instrument, the variable Health status was estimated, which represents the individual's predicted self-rated health. Then, this variable was used as a regressor in a second stage, aiming to understand its effects on the demand for health services. Among the main results obtained, it can be highlighted that the indicator had a positive effect on the assessed health, in which people with good domiciliar infrastructure were more likely to assess their own health as good/very good at regional and national levels. In addition, at the national level, a negative relationship was also found between the declared health status and the demand for health services, that is, individuals who self-rated their health status as good/very good are less likely to seek such services. Therefore, it was confirmed at a national level that the hypothesis of a worse self-reported health status increases the probability of seeking health care.