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Perceived unmet healthcare needs among older Europeans in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: the telemedicine solution
Article | Year: 2024 | Pages: 125 - 150 | Volume: 48 | Issue: 2 Received: November 23, 2023 | Accepted: March 13, 2024 | Published online: June 10, 2024
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FULL ARTICLE
FIGURES & DATA
REFERENCES
CROSSMARK POLICY
METRICS
LICENCING
PDF
 Note: Weighted data using calibrated cross-sectional individual weights. Dashed lines represent the average of the samples.Source: Authors’ calculations based on SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., SHARE Wave 9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version 0.
Note: Weighted data using calibrated cross-sectional individual weights. Source: Authors’ calculations based on SHARE Wave 9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0.
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No remote consultations
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Had remote consultations
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N
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Mean (%)
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N
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Mean (%)
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Women
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12,772
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57.3
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9,205
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61.7***
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Age (in
years)
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22,298
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71.2
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14,927
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70.6***
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Lives
alone
|
6,042
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27.1
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3,701
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24.8***
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Education level
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low
|
6,827
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30.6
|
4,849
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32.5***
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Medium
|
9,885
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44.3
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6,709
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45.0
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High
|
5,586
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25.1
|
3,369
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22.6***
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Had
economic difficulties
|
6,851
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30.7
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6,697
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44.9***
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Lives
in the urban area
|
14,235
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63.8
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10,252
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68.7***
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SRH
(Wave 9) Good and better
|
14,722
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66.0
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7,891
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52.9***
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SRH before Corona
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Poor
|
866
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3.9
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948
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6.4***
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Fair
|
4,519
|
20.3
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4,589
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30.7***
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Good
|
10,434
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46.8
|
6,773
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45.4***
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Very good
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4,490
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20.1
|
1,979
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13.3***
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Excellent
|
1,989
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8.9
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638
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4.3***
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Suffering from chronic illness
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11,326
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50.8
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9,367
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62.8***
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Had healthcare forgone
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3,603
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16.2
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3,064
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20.5***
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Had healthcare postponed
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6,575
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29.5
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5,705
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38.2***
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Had healthcare denied
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1,519
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6.8
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1818
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12.2***
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Affectedness by COVID-19
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No
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12,170
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54.6
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7,205
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48.3***
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Mildly
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6,850
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30.7
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5,209
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34.9***
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Severely
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3,278
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14.7
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2,513
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16.8***
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Total
SHARE sample (SCS1, SCS2 and Wave 9)
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22,298
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59.9
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14,927
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40.1***
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Note: Unweighted figures. *** p < 0.01. Source: Authors’ calculations based on combined data from SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Wave 9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version: 0.
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Country identifier
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N
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%
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Austria
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1,707
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4.59
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Germany
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1,713
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4.60
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Sweden
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786
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2.11
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Netherlands
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585
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1.57
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Spain
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910
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2.44
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Italy
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2,551
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6.85
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France
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1,483
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3.98
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Denmark
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1,273
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3.42
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Greece
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2,646
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7.11
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Switzerland
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1,415
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3.80
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Belgium
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,2820
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7.58
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Israel
|
332
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0.89
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Czech Republic
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1,661
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4.46
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Poland
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2,182
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5.86
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Luxembourg
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624
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1.68
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Hungary
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520
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1.40
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Portugal
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717
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1.93
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Slovenia
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2,464
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6.62
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Estonia
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3,081
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8.28
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Croatia
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1,433
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3.85
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Lithuania
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1,059
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2.84
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Bulgaria
|
484
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1.30
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Cyprus
|
439
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1.18
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Finland
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967
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2.60
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Latvia
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734
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1.97
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Malta
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563
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1.51
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Romania
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1,249
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3.36
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Slovakia
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827
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2.22
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Total
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37,225
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100.00
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Note: Unweighted figures. Source: Authors’ calculations based on combined data from SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Wave 9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version 0.
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Odds ratios
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Gender (ref.
Men)
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Women
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1.116***
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Age (ref.
50-64)
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65-79
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0.832***
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80+
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0.689***
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Living
arrangement (ref. Living with others)
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Living
alone
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1.217***
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Education
level (ref. Low)
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Medium
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1.043
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High
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0.964
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Financial
situation of household (ref. No econ. difficulties)
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With
econ. difficulties
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2.029***
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Area of
residence (ref. Rural)
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Urban
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1.062*
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SRH
(Wave 9) (ref. Good and better)
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Fair or
poor
|
1.338***
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SRH before
Corona (ref. Poor)
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Fair
|
0.870**
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Good
|
0.763***
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Very
good
|
0.648***
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Excellent
|
0.543***
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Suffering
from chronic illnesses (ref. No)
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Yes
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1.376***
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Remote
healthcare use (ref. No)
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Yes
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1.230***
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Healthcare
forgone (ref. No)
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Yes
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1.466***
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Healthcare
postponed (ref. No)
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Yes
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1.217***
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Healthcare
denied (ref. No)
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Yes
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1.789***
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Affectedness
by COVID-19 (ref. No)
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Mildly
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1.140***
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Severely
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1.253***
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Note: *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. How to read the results in the table? For example, women aged 50 and older in 27 European countries and Israel had nearly 1.12 times (or 12 percentage points) higher odds of reporting unmet healthcare needs after the pandemic compared to men aged 50 and older in 27 European countries and Israel, ceteris paribus. Source: Authors' calculations based on SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Wave 9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version 0.
Note: Average marginal effects for healthcare forgone 4.3 percentage points, healthcare postponed
2.1 percentage points, healthcare denied 7 percentage points and remote healthcare use
2.2 percentage points (dashed lines). Source: Authors’ calculations based on SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Wave
9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version 0.
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(1)
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(2)
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(3)
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(4)
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Country
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Healthcare forgone
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Healthcare postponed
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Healthcare denied
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Remote healthcare use
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Austria
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0.0372***
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0.0180***
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0.0615***
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0.0187***
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(0.00476)
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(0.00358)
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(0.00703)
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(0.00371)
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Germany
|
0.0417***
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0.0202***
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0.0686***
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0.0210***
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(0.00511)
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(0.00403)
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(0.00754)
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(0.00413)
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Sweden
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0.0438***
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0.0213***
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0.0718***
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0.0221***
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(0.00587)
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(0.00439)
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(0.00870)
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(0.00434)
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Netherlands
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0.0279***
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0.0134***
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0.0465***
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0.0139***
|
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(0.00515)
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(0.00317)
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(0.00799)
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(0.00323)
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Spain
|
0.0497***
|
0.0242***
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0.0810***
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0.0252***
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(0.00633)
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(0.00476)
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(0.00880)
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(0.00458)
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Italy
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0.0581***
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0.0285***
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0.0939***
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0.0297***
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(0.00645)
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(0.00542)
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(0.00887)
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(0.00523)
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France
|
0.0572***
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0.0280***
|
0.0924***
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0.0292***
|
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(0.00663)
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(0.00534)
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(0.00884)
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(0.00550)
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Denmark
|
0.0295***
|
0.0142***
|
0.0490***
|
0.0147***
|
|
(0.00440)
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(0.00300)
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(0.00668)
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(0.00302)
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Greece
|
0.0567***
|
0.0278***
|
0.0917***
|
0.0290***
|
|
(0.00625)
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(0.00537)
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(0.00872)
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(0.00518)
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Switzerland
|
0.0313***
|
0.0151***
|
0.0519***
|
0.0156***
|
|
(0.00446)
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(0.00312)
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(0.00677)
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(0.00325)
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Belgium
|
0.0450***
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0.0219***
|
0.0737***
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0.0228***
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(0.00519)
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(0.00415)
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(0.00739)
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(0.00427)
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Israel
|
0.0281***
|
0.0135***
|
0.0467***
|
0.0140***
|
|
(0.00558)
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(0.00344)
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(0.00890)
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(0.00341)
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Czechia
|
0.0454***
|
0.0221***
|
0.0744***
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0.0230***
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|
(0.00542)
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(0.00423)
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(0.00800)
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(0.00434)
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Poland
|
0.0362***
|
0.0175***
|
0.0598***
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0.0182***
|
|
(0.00444)
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(0.00340)
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(0.00627)
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(0.00323)
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Luxembourg
|
0.0308***
|
0.0148***
|
0.0511***
|
0.0154***
|
|
(0.00495)
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(0.00325)
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(0.00774)
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(0.00338)
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Hungary
|
0.0426***
|
0.0207***
|
0.0699***
|
0.0215***
|
|
(0.00574)
|
(0.00420)
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(0.00838)
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(0.00411)
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Portugal
|
0.0542***
|
0.0265***
|
0.0879***
|
0.0276***
|
|
(0.00667)
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(0.00506)
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(0.00918)
|
(0.00517)
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|
Slovenia
|
0.0324***
|
0.0156***
|
0.0537***
|
0.0162***
|
|
(0.00411)
|
(0.00302)
|
(0.00595)
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(0.00295)
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Estonia
|
0.0508***
|
0.0248***
|
0.0827***
|
0.0258***
|
|
(0.00583)
|
(0.00477)
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(0.00795)
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(0.00460)
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Croatia
|
0.0238***
|
0.0114***
|
0.0397***
|
0.0118***
|
|
(0.00332)
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(0.00236)
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(0.00504)
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(0.00224)
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Lithuania
|
0.0436***
|
0.0212***
|
0.0716***
|
0.0220***
|
|
(0.00537)
|
(0.00419)
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(0.00756)
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(0.00396)
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Bulgaria
|
0.0363***
|
0.0175***
|
0.0600***
|
0.0182***
|
|
(0.00538)
|
(0.00385)
|
(0.00811)
|
(0.00367)
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Cyprus
|
0.0153***
|
0.00731***
|
0.0257***
|
0.00757***
|
|
(0.00375)
|
(0.00213)
|
(0.00612)
|
(0.00212)
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Finland
|
0.0562***
|
0.0275***
|
0.0910***
|
0.0287***
|
|
(0.00679)
|
(0.00540)
|
(0.00932)
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(0.00536)
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Latvia
|
0.0389***
|
0.0189***
|
0.0642***
|
0.0196***
|
|
(0.00517)
|
(0.00391)
|
(0.00755)
|
(0.00364)
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Malta
|
0.0181***
|
0.00867***
|
0.0304***
|
0.00898***
|
|
(0.00394)
|
(0.00228)
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(0.00640)
|
(0.00239)
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Romania
|
0.0468***
|
0.0228***
|
0.0765***
|
0.0237***
|
|
(0.00578)
|
(0.00455)
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(0.00810)
|
(0.00450)
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Slovakia
|
0.0430***
|
0.0209***
|
0.0705***
|
0.0217***
|
|
(0.00551)
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(0.00417)
|
(0.00813)
|
(0.00402)
|
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Observations
|
37,225
|
37,225
|
37,225
|
37,225
|
Source: Authors’ calculations based on SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Wave
9 COVID-19 Survey release 8.0.0., Preliminary Wave 9 Release version 0.
Figure 1Percentages of older adults with unmet healthcare needs in SCS1, SCS2 and SHARE Wave 9 (horizontal axis) with 95% confidence intervals DISPLAY Figure
Figure 2Percentages of older adults who reported using TM in the COVID-19 pandemic (left) and who increased TM use compared with the period before the pandemic (right) DISPLAY Figure
Table 1Sample descriptive statistics DISPLAY Table
Table 2Sample sizes by country DISPLAY Table
Table 3Determinants of unmet healthcare needs in 27 European countries and Israel in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic DISPLAY Table
Figure A1Effects on the probability of unmet healthcare in SHARE Wave 9 at country level with 95% confidence intervals DISPLAY Figure
Table A1Average marginal effects for selected predictors at country level DISPLAY Table
* The authors would like to thank three reviewers for their helpful comments and advice.
1 Government national health insurance program in the United States.
2 Available upon request from the authors.
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June, 2024
II/2024
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