60% of Portuguese have cut healthcare costs for economic reasons

Portuguese people’s satisfaction with the National Health Service has fallen by 21 percentage points in two years, an international study published on Tuesday showed, which found three in five people have cut their health spending for economic reasons.

According to the STADA 2023 State of Health Report, which surveyed two thousand people in Portugal, 74% of the Portuguese population were satisfied with the national health service in 2021, a figure that fell to 53% in 2023.

Dissatisfaction is particularly pronounced among the most active population (35 to 70 years old), and among the 16 countries surveyed, Portugal ranks 11th in satisfaction, 32 percentage points below Belgium and 21 above Poland (highest and lowest in satisfaction rating). list accordingly).

A European study found that a total of “60% of Portuguese people have been forced to reduce their spending on health and well-being due to their economic situation” and “around one in ten have been forced to cut their spending on medicines.” included 32 thousand participants distributed across 16 countries.

When it comes to mental health, 65% of Portuguese say they are in a good or very good situation, 12 percentage points above the average.

But for the future, Portuguese expectations are more negative – 16% believe their mental health will worsen, five points higher than the global average in the STADA 2023 health report, presented today in Oeiras.

The STADA Health Report is an annual publication that analyzes the state of health in Europe and provides information on the immediate and long-term impact of the pandemic on the lives of Europeans, including how it has affected their mental health and changed habits.

“Although anxiety levels are higher in Portugal, one in five Portuguese people do not talk to anyone about their fears and concerns” about mental health, with the majority (52%) only talking to friends and family.

Only 10% have the habit of seeing a psychologist, and 16% of respondents usually talk about their mental health with their family doctor.

In the sleep chapter, “64% say they sleep well,” which is six points below the overall average.

A total of 73% of Portuguese people have strengthened preventive health measures, which is in line with other European countries.

Among Portuguese who increased these preventative measures, 34% indicated that they had chosen a healthier diet, 24% had sought advice from their family doctor, 21% had more medical check-ups, 20% had increased their vitamin intake and 18% had taken more vitamins vitamins use of medications.

However, almost half of respondents from Portugal (48%) did not attend any of the available preventive examinations. Among the reasons listed, 38% said they didn’t know what inspections to do, 29% said they had financial difficulties and 18% thought they didn’t need them.

Compared to other European countries, Portugal generally exceeds the global average for cancer screening.

In terms of dental screening and clinical analysis, Portugal lags significantly behind the European average in STADA.

Also, 94% of Portuguese people supported the possibility of a genetic test to assess possible future health risks, significantly higher than the European average of 81%.

In their responses, “Portuguese claim to be less reliant on painkillers,” that their “consumption is lower than the average for other European countries,” and show that they are more aware of the differences between medications.

Among the 32,000 respondents, there was “higher interest in healthcare”, with Portugal “18% above the global average”, a sign that the Portuguese “intend to stay up to date with topics” in the sector.