First Advisor

McGuire, Maureen

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

MS Health Services Administration

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

30 pages

Abstract

This study attempts to determine whether there is a correlation between a country's per capita expenditure on healthcare and its healthcare outcomes. Prior studies have been done to assess access experiences and variations by income in various countries, and to compare the US's multi-payer system to countries with universal or national health insurance. Researchers and authors agree that certain elements of a country's healthcare system are superior, while others are inferior, and that these elements combined would produce a healthcare system with first-rate outcomes, high patient satisfaction, and universal access to healthcare for all citizens. This study was carried out as a cross-national, bivariate, correlational research study. The 25 World Health Organization member countries with the highest per-capita gross national income per capita were selected for inclusion in this study. Of these countries, the United States spends more on healthcare per capita, yet ranks toward the bottom for adult mortality rate, life expectancy at birth, under-five mortality rate, and infant mortality rate. The most current available data for per-capita healthcare expenditure were from 2005, whereas the most current available data for the selected healthcare outcomes were from 2006. Spearman's rho, Z-scores, and ANOVA tests did not reveal any statistically significant correlation between a country's per-capita expenditure on healthcare and the selected outcomes of adult mortality rate, life expectancy at birth, under-five mortality rate, and infant mortality rate. This study failed to show that additional healthcare spending yielded improved outcomes on the selected indicators.

Date of Award

Fall 2008

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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