20.500.12556/RUL-187847 Equal access to healthcare in national legislations how do Croatia, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia counteract discrimination in healthcare? Background: The aim of the study was a comparative analysis of legislative measures against discrimination in healthcare on the grounds of a) race and ethnicity, b) religion and belief, and c) gender identity and sexual orientation in Croatia, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. Methods: We conducted a search for documents in national legal databases and reviewed legal commentaries, scientific literature and official reports of equality bodies. We integrated a comparative method with text analysis and the critical interpretive approach. The documents were examined in their original languages: Croatian, German, Polish, and Slovenian. Results: All examined states prohibit discrimination and guarantee the right to healthcare on the constitutional level. However, there are significant differences among them on the statutory level, regarding both anti-discriminatory legal measures and other legislation affecting access to healthcare for groups of diverse race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity. Croatia and Slovenia show the most comprehensive legislation concerning nondiscrimination in healthcare in comparison to Germany and even more Poland. Except for Slovenia, explicit provisions protecting equal access for members of the above mentioned groups are insufficiently represented in healthcare legislation. Conclusions: The study identified legislative barriers to access to healthcare for persons of diverse race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity in Croatia, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. The discrepancies in the level of implementation of anti-discriminatory measures among these states show that there is a need for comprehensive EU-wide regulations, which would implement the principle of equal treatment in the specific context of healthcare. General anti-discrimination regulations should be strengthened by inclusion of anti-discrimination provisions directly into national legislation relating specifically to the area of healthcare. healthcare access discrimination ethics national legislation Croatia Germany Poland Slovenia zdravstvena oskrba dostopnost etika diskriminacija zakonodaja Nemčija Poljska Hrvaška Slovenija true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-09-15 09:47:51 2026-09-15 09:47:51 2026-10-03 17:48:47 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2022 0 0 11 str. art. 100 Vol. 22 2022 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 614.39:39(4) 1472-6963 10.1186/s12913-021-07453-6 95019779 RAZ_Bielińska-Kowalewska_Katarzyna_2022.pdf RAZ_Bielińska-Kowalewska_Katarzyna_2022.pdf 1 A78C908B601518323F7BE05BED5C68B8 46e4275c55766001aab85f1ba47629370222bb674fa5c47425ff0821a0459264 4c945ee2-b0da-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=247641 https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-021-07453-6 1 bb4b8076-b0d9-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=247640 Medicinska fakulteta 0 0 0