Self-assessment of health and conditions for receiving medical care by residents of the Russian Federation
Authors:   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Starodubov V. I. , Menshikova L. I. ,   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Senenko A.Sh. ,   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Zubko A. V. ,   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
Published: January 2023

In the context of higher interest of healthcare executives in patient-centeredness, development of value-based healthcare and increasing public satisfaction with medical care, it is very important to have access to detailed information about how people evaluate the care provided, as well as to specify problems associated with receiving care. Such detailed information can provide directions for further development of organizational technologies and serve basis for developing management decisions. T h e p u r p o s e of the study is to analyze results of sociological surveys of the Russian population on self-assessment of health and conditions for receiving medical care. M a t e r i a l a n d m e t h o d s . The study used data available from the Rosstat (Federal State Statistics Service) official website – “Comprehensive monitoring over living conditions of the Russian population” (conducted in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020) in terms of questions related to receiving medical care by the survey respondents, based on a sample survey of representatives of various groups and population strata covering 10 thousand households. Analysis of the presented data was carried out using descriptive statistics methods by the following sections: respondents’ self-assessment of health, smoking and alcohol consumption, receiving outpatient care, receiving dental care, seeking emergency medical care, receiving inpatient care, non-care seeking if medical care is needed. R e s u l t s . The share of those who rated their health as “excellent” and “good” has increased. It should be noted here that males were more optimistic in assessing their health status than females. The share of the respondents reporting a chronic disease diagnosed by a doctor decreased from 30.2% in 2014 to 27.2% in 2020. There is no significant difference between urban and rural population. The share of non-smokers and those who have never smoked decreased from 63.5% in 2014 to 62.1% in 2020. The share of male alcohol consumers remained stable adding up to 70%, while the female share tended to increase from 49.5% in 2014 to 52.1% in 2020. Assessment of an average time spent on making an appointment with a doctor in outpatient settings has not changed in dynamics and equaled to about 18 minutes. The share of those receiving timely medical care out of those applied for care increased from 92.6% in 2016 to 95.1% in 2020. The share of those calling an ambulance tended to decrease: from 10.8% in 2014 to 10.1% in 2020. According to the surveys’ results, every year some 7–8% of the population receive specialized medical care in inpatient settings. The analysis of cases of non–care seeking if medical assistance is needed showed a decreased share of such respondents: 33.6% in 2014, 33.0% in 2016, 34.5% in 2018, and 29.2% in 2020. The share of those failing to get to or experiencing difficulty getting to a health care facility equaled to 3.3%, 2.5%, 2.8% and 1.9%, respectively. 7.2% of the respondents had “no time” for care seeking in 2014, 8.2% in 2016 and 2018, and 4.7% in 2020. A significant decrease in this indicator is rather logical and unsurprising in the context of the pandemic caused by a new coronavirus infection. C o n c l u s i o n s . From 2014–2020, self-assessment of health has improved; in general, males rate their health higher compared to females. Men smoke 5 times more often than women. Generally, they start smoking during the teen years. As a positive trend, we can point out an increasing share of people who quit smoking. Men drink alcohol 9 times more often than women. The share of the female alcohol consumers tends to increase. Negative trends in care delivery are as follows: increased waiting time for emergency medical care; increased average number of days waiting for hospital admission; decreased share of those admitted to the hospital on the day of the visit. Positive trends in care delivery include the following: decreased denials of outpatient care due to lack of necessary equipment or medicines, shorter lines in waiting premises to see a doctor; decreased offers of payed services; decreased waiting time for a doctor’s appointment; increased share of those receiving timely dental care. A tendency among the respondents towards self-medication and not seeking medical care due to lack of time has decreased.