Socio-economic Status As a Determinant of Access to Paediatric Health Care in Poland

Background: The work presented here attempts to determine does patients' socio-economic status affect the spatial diversity of access to paediatric healthcare in Poland. That is why the aim of this study was to identify the main factors that determine differences in the distribution and workload of paediatricians in Poland. In particular, to clarify the role of patients' socio-economic status in access to public paediatric health care. This research, specific to conditions in Poland, will contribute to the further development of knowledge in this field. Data were obtained from the Statistics Poland database. Principal component analysis of standardized attribute variables related to provinces and multivariate regression were used to identify factors of differences in paediatrician workload. Results: Two principal components were identified. The first, the level of socio-economic status, negatively correlated with the number of treated patients per paediatrician (-26.845, p=0.010). The second, the degree of urbanisation, presented a statistically insignificant positive correlation with the mentioned patients' number (3.946, p=0.664). Conclusions: The research suggests that socio-economic factors may affect the uneven spatial distribution of the workload of paediatricians in Poland and cause differences between the provinces in the equal access to paediatricians. This research may thus provide implications for policy and practice, as well as lead to a better understanding of the problem.