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Background: The aim of this study was to investigate socio-economic inequalities in health care utilization from the 1980s and through the last 3 decades in a Norwegian county population. Methods: Altogether, 166 758 observations of 97 251 individuals during surveys in 1984–86 (83% eligible responses), 1995–97 (51% eligible responses) and 2006–08 (50% eligible responses) of the total population of adults (≥20 years) from Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway were included. Health care utilization was measured as at least one visit to general practitioner (GP), hospital outpatient services and inpatient care in the past year. Socio-economy was measured by both education and income and rescaled to measure relative indexes of inequality (RII). Relative and absolute inequalities were estimated from multilevel logistic regression. Estimates were adjusted for age, sex, municipality size and self-reported health. Results: GP utilization was higher among individuals with higher education in 1984–86. Among men the RII was 0.54 (CI: 0.48–0.62), and among women RII was 0.67 (CI: 0.58–0.77). In 2006–08, the corresponding RII was 1.31 (CI: 1.13–1.52) for men and 1.00 (CI: 0.85–1.18) for women, indicating higher or equal GP utilization among those with lower education, respectively. The corresponding RIIs for outpatient consultations were 0.58 (CI: 0.49–0.68) for men and 0.40 (CI: 0.34–0.46) for women in 1984–86, and 0.53 (CI: 0.46–0.62) for men and 0.47 (CI: 0.41–0.53) for women in 2006–08. Conclusion: Through the last 3 decades, the previous socio-economic differences in GP utilization have diminished. Despite this, highly educated people were more prone to utilize hospital outpatient consultations throughout the period 1984–2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the level of socioeconomic inequity in dental care utilisation in Norway and enable comparison with recent international comparative studies. Methods: We studied dental care utilisation among 17,136 men and 21,414 women in the third Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey (2006–08). Respondents aged 20 years and above were included in the study, and analyses were also performed within subgroups of age and gender (20–39, 40–59, and ≥60 years). Income-related horizontal inequity was estimated by means of concentration indices. Education-related inequity was estimated as relative risks. Results: We found consistent pro-rich income inequity among men and women of all ages. The level of income inequity was highest among men and women ≥60 years, and in this group the income gradient was steepest between the poorest and the middle quintiles. Pro-educated inequity was found exclusively among men and women ≥60 years. General attendance was high (77%). Conclusion: The overall level of income-related inequity in dental services utilisation was low compared to other European countries as reported in two recent international studies of socioeconomic inequalities in dental care utilisation. Pro-rich and pro-educated inequity is a public health challenge mainly in the older part of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: In this study we investigated the distribution of self-reported health care utilisation by education and household income in a county population in Norway, in a universal public health care system based on ideals of equal access for all according to need, and not according to wealth. Methods: The study included 24,147 women and 20,608 men aged 20 years and above in the third Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey (HUNT 3) of 2006--2008. Income-related horizontal inequity was estimated through concentration indexes, and inequity by both education and income was estimated as risk ratios through conventional regression. Results: We found no overall pro-rich or pro-educated socioeconomic gradient in needs-adjusted utilisation of general practitioner or inpatient care. However, we found overall pro-rich and pro-educated inequity in utilisation of both private medical specialists and hospital outpatient care. For these services there were large differences in levels of inequity between younger and older men and women. Conclusion: In contrast with recent studies from Norway, we found pro-rich and pro-educated social inequalities in utilisation of hospital outpatient services and not only private medical specialists. Utilisation of general practitioner and inpatient services, which have low access threshold or are free of charge, we found to be equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]