Forum of Clinical Oncology Healthcare access for cancer patients in the era of economic crisis . Results from the HOPE III study

Research evidence suggests that inequalities to healthcare access do exist in terms of cancer detection and treatment as well as in health outcomes amongst patients with cancer (1). Barriers such as living in rural area and have to travel a long distance to reach a health service, limited healthcare facilities and low availability of health services/medication treatment often prevent patients with cancer from seeking appropriate and effective care (2). Moreover, there are also factors at the level of patient with cancer related to limited access to effective care. People of low socioeconomic status, lower educational level and with limited social support face additional barriers in accessing healthcare services for the detection and treatment of cancer (3). The outbreak of economic crisis in Europe exacerbated the inequalities in health amongst and within European countries. In many cases, the policies implemented as a response to the recession, such as the decrease in the public health expenditure and the increase in the cost sharing in healthcare, have shifted the financial burden to households and led to differentiation of population’s health outcomes (4). Specifically, in Greece, the austerity plan implemented was targeted to achieve spending cuts of 1–5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 and additional cuts in the next two years. The public expenditure on health was estimated to do not exceed 6% of GDP whilst the unemployment rates continuing to raise (5, 6). Greece has the highest unemployment rate amongst the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, found to be at 25.6% in 2015 (7). Although the economic situation in Greece is increasingly worsening and the financial crisis remains, the studies exploring the impact of the recession on health and healthcare access remain scarce. Forum of Clinical Oncology