A comparative analysis of satisfaction with medical services (a case study of Tyumen region)

The article presents the results of sociological research on the opinion of the population of Tyumen region on the functioning of regional health care institutions, satisfaction with the effectiveness of free state medical care, willingness to use paid medical services within the framework of the social policy of the Russian Federation. The authors found differences in the assessments of different groups of the population, differentiated by age, region of residence, level of material well-being, self-assessment of their health, although in general the vast majority of respondents assessed the quality of free medical care negatively. Discriminant analysis was used as one of the research methods, which showed a fairly clear prediction of whether residents belonged to the group of consumers of free medical care, while the accuracy of predicting the use of paid medical care turned out to be extremely low. This is explained by the fact that the use of paid medical services is currently not a naturally developing process, but simply a necessity in the presence of a rather low quality of free medical services in some cases. The article supports the thesis that the population of Tyumen region is not ready to accept serious changes in the health care system, despite the fact that the number of users of paid medical services is growing. However, there are difficulties for residents in making such a transition, as a significant number of them cannot afford to use paid services and choose, or are forced to choose, free healthcare. 

social policy, health care system, paid and free medical services, medical institutions, consumers of paid medical services