The second phase of the index, supported by Haleon, assesses the efforts of 40 national governments to ensure good health for all
London, November 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The Economist Impact, a division of The Economist Group that partners with global organizations to advance its mission, today launches its second phase Health Inclusion Index,support Harlan (LON/NYSE: HLN), a global leader in consumer health.Results from this phase show that health inclusion is declining globally, particularly U.K. Falling from the top spot in the first stage.
Health Inclusion Index
The Index measures health inclusion, defined as the process of removing personal, social, cultural and political barriers that prevent individuals and communities from achieving good physical and mental health.
The index evaluates 40 countries based on 58 separate indicators across three areas: social health, inclusive health systems, and people and community empowerment. It aims to assess the health-inclusive policy landscape, availability of key systems and infrastructure, and empowering efforts for individuals and communities to navigate health systems and expand services for marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
The second phase of the Index incorporates lived experience, measuring the real-world implementation of inclusive health policies through a survey of more than 42,000 adults in 40 countries.
Key findings from the second phase of the Health Inclusion Index include:
- Inclusion scores worsened between phases one and two for 85% of countries, indicating a clear gap between policy and implementation.Effective and inclusive health systems require the development of strong policy frameworks and meaningful implementation of these measures in practice
- U.K. When health policies are compared with experience on the ground, the country’s status as the most health-inclusive has declined.While policy is an important foundation for health, only effective implementation of policy and people’s experience with it can reduce inequalities and improve health outcomes for populations
- There is a huge gap between inclusive health policies and the experience of citizens in high-income countries. In contrast, differences are smaller in low- and middle-income countries ( United Arab Emirates is the only high-income country not to follow this trend).Although high-income countries have made progress in developing and implementing ambitious health care policies aimed at achieving inclusion, this effort has resulted in a gap between policy and practice that requires focus, effort, and resources to close
- Marginalized groups are at greatest risk of health exclusion when gaps exist between health policy and policy experience.But this is avoidable and requires the implementation of targeted interventions, which should be designed in partnership with the target population
- More than three-fifths of respondents to the Global Health Inclusion Survey experienced barriers to accessing health care.The most common barriers include lack of appointments, distance and cost of travel, and lack of trust in health care services
- Younger respondents were more likely to say they were denied access to health care and cited trust and cost as barriers to receiving care. More than one in five (21%) Gen Z and Millennial respondents have been denied access to care, compared with 14% of older respondents
- Promote greater inclusion through community-based health care services in low- and lower-middle-income countries.Respondents in low- and lower-middle-income countries are nearly 10 percentage points more likely to receive the five core community-level services considered in the index
The top ten rankings on the Health Inclusion Index are as follows: Australia, SwedenU.K, USA, France, Israel, Canada, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Thailand. With all but one country scoring below 80, it is clear that significant efforts are needed to truly achieve health inclusion.
Jonathan Birdwell“The Economist Impact” global head of policy and insights said: “Measuring a country’s ability to deliver quality healthcare includes assessing not just its policies but also the ability of its people to use healthcare services. That’s why we’re excited to add the lived experience indicator to Economist Impact on Health in the Inclusion Index. The results from this phase of the Index show that high-income countries still need to make many improvements if they are to effectively translate policy into action.”
For the full report, please visit: https://impact.economist.com/projects/health-inclusivity-index
About The Economist Impact
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About Helen
Harlan (london school of economics /New York Stock Exchange: HLN) is a global leader in consumer health, aiming to provide better everyday health to people. Helen’s Product portfolio covers five major areas Categories – Oral Health, Pain Relief, Respiratory Health, Digestive Health & Others, and Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS). Its long-standing brands – such as Advil, Sensodyne, Panadol, Voltaren, Theraflu, Otrivin, Polident, parodontax and Centrum – are built on trusted science, innovation and deep human understanding.
For more information, please visit www.haleon.com.
Source: The Economist Impact