Hybrid health regimes: Access to primary care physicians and COVID-19 vaccine uptake across municipalities in Romania

Norbert Petrovici; Stefana Ștefana Belbe; Codruta Codruța Mare; Calin Călin Cotoi

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116305

Hybrid health regimes: Access to primary care physicians and COVID-19 vaccine uptake across municipalities in Romania

Soc Sci Med. 2023 Nov:337:116305. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116305. Epub 2023 Oct 13.

Authors

Norbert Petrovici¹, Stefana Ștefana Belbe², Codruta Codruța Mare³, Calin Călin Cotoi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Dep. of Sociology, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Babes-Bolyai University, 1, Anghel Saligny, 400394, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Interdisciplinary Centre for Data Science, Babes-Bolyai University, 68, Avram Iancu Str., 400083, 4th Floor, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address: norbert.petrovici@ubbcluj.ro.
² Dep. of Statistics, Forecasts, Mathematics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babes-Bolyai University, 58-60, Teodor Mihali Str., 400591, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Interdisciplinary Centre for Data Science, Babes-Bolyai University, 68, Avram Iancu Str., 400083, 4th Floor, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address: stefana.cioban@econ.ubbcluj.ro.
³ Dep. of Statistics, Forecasts, Mathematics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babes-Bolyai University, 58-60, Teodor Mihali Str., 400591, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Interdisciplinary Centre for Data Science, Babes-Bolyai University, 68, Avram Iancu Str., 400083, 4th Floor, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address: codruta.mare@econ.ubbcluj.ro.
⁴ Dep. of Sociology, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest, 9, Schitu Magureanu Blv., Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania. Electronic address: calin.cotoi@sas.unibuc.ro.

PMID: 37857237
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116305

Abstract

This study analyses COVID-19 vaccine uptake at the municipal level in Romania using the global health regimes and vaccine hesitancy perspectives. Our spatial regression (SARAR-het Durbin) shows that the number of primary care physicians is a significant predictor of vaccine uptake, and municipalities with higher access to the labour market have higher vaccination rates. We provide a historical perspective to demonstrate that the current health regime in Romania is a hybrid of internationalist and global health regimes, with socialist investments affecting labour participation, education, poverty, and vaccination rates. Our findings highlight the impact of regional disparities and partial privatization of the health system.

Keywords: COVID-19; Global health regimes; Health disparities; Primary care physicians; SARAR-het Durbin; Vaccination uptake.

MeSH terms

Access to Primary Care
COVID-19 Vaccines / therapeutic use
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Cities
Humans
Physicians*
Romania
Vaccination

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines