COVID-19 PANDEMİSİ, SAĞLIK OKURYAZARLIĞININ ARTAN ÖNEMİ VE SEÇİLMİŞ OECD ÜLKELERİ ÜZERİNE EKONOMİK BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Year 2022, Volume: 25 Issue: 1, 233 - 254, 25.03.2022

Nihal Kalaycı Oflaz

Abstract

Toplumların Covid-19 pandemisiyle verdikleri mücadelede bireylerin tutumları ve pandemi ile ilgili
kullanılan tıbbi terminolojiyi anlamaları açısından sağlık okuryazarlığı konusunun önemi artmıştır. Bu
çalışmada sağlık okuryazarlığının Covid-19 pandemisi sürecindeki önemi ele alınmış ve konunun sağlık
ekonomisinin temel ekonomik verilerinden biri olan sağlık harcamaları ile ilişkisi yanında kişi başına gelir
düzeyi ve Gini indeksi gibi ekonomik veriler ile olan ilişkisinin analiz edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bununla birlikte
pandemiye ilişkin vaka sayıları, vefat sayıları, aşılama oranları gibi veriler de sağlık okuryazarlığı ile olan
ilişkisi açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Bu amaçla çalışmada 18 OECD ülkesi seçilmiş olup, bu ülkelere ilişkin
veriler, Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Sağlık Bakanlığı ve uluslararası kurumların açık erişim
verilerinden elde edilmiştir. Veriler doğrultusunda, seçilmiş ülkelerin genelinde bireyler arasında sağlık
okuryazarlığının yetersizliğinin yaygınlığının vaka ve vefat sayılarının artışında etkili olduğu ve bu ülkelerde
ekonomik eşitsizliğin de yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sağlık okuryazarlığının yetersiz olduğu tüm ülkelerde Gini
indeksinin adaletsiz bir dağılım sergilediği söylenememektedir. Bunun yanında, kişi başına düşen gelir düzeyinin
ya da sağlık harcamaları için ayrılan payın yüksek olduğu ülkelerde gelir dağılımının daha adil ya da sağlık
okuryazarlığının daha gelişmiş olduğunu gösteren bir faktör de tespit edilememiştir.

Keywords

Sağlık ekonomisi, Sağlık harcamaları, Sağlık okuryazarlığı., covid-19

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE RISING IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH LITERACY AND AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT ON SELECTED OECD COUNTRIES

Abstract

The importance of health literacy has increased in terms of individuals’ attitudes and understanding of the
medical terminology used in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic by societies. In this study, the importance
of health literacy in the Covid-19 pandemic process was discussed and it was aimed to analyze the relationship
of the subject with health expenditures, which is one of the basic economic data of health economics, as well as
economic data such as per capita income level and Gini index. In addition, data such as the number of cases,
death numbers, vaccination rates related to the pandemic were also evaluated in terms of their relationship with
health literacy. For this purpose, 18 OECD countries were selected in the study. The data on these countries
were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey, and open
access data of international institutions. In line with the data, it has been determined that the prevalence of
insufficient health literacy among individuals in selected countries is effective in the increase in the number of
cases and deaths, and economic inequality is also high in these countries. As a result, the Gini index exhibits an
unequal distribution in all countries where health literacy is insufficient. In addition to this, a factor indicating
that the income distribution is more equitable or the health literacy is more developed in countries where the per
capita income level or the share allocated for health expenditures is high could not be determined.

Keywords

Health economics, Health expenditures, Health literacy., covid-19

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