Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in the Evaluation of Health Inequalities of the Inhabitants of Rural Areas in Poland
Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in the Evaluation of Health Inequalities of the Inhabitants of Rural Areas in Poland

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is an assessment of changes in the scope of health inequalities of the inhabitants of the rural areas in Poland that took place in the years 2009–2014. The analysis was based on the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) carried out in Poland in 2014 by the Central Statistical Office, published in 2016. The following research hypotheses were formulated at the preliminary stage of the project: H1: according to the concept of social gradient, there are health inequalities between inhabitants of urban and rural areas in Poland. H2: disproportions concerning health inequalities between inhabitants of urban and rural areas diminish with time. When analysing relations between health and Social Determinants of Health (SDH), the c2 gauge as well as ϕ Yula and Q Kendell coefficients based on it were calculated. The rates of the expected further lifespan were used for the analysis of inequalities as asynthetic measure of the state of health of the population. The performed assessments show that there are distinct correlations among the Social Determinantsof Health (SDH). People in urban areas assess their state of health to get worse and worse with age, but to a distinctly lower degree that in takes place in rural areas. On theother hand, higher evaluation of the state of health becomes more distinct with increased level of education – significantly more distinct in rural areas.In spite of subjective improvement of the assessment of the state of health of the inhabitants of Poland, there is a health inequality depending on Social Determinants of Health(SDH).

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