Equal access to healthcare in national legislations : how do Croatia, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia counteract discrimination in healthcare?

Bielińska-Kowalewska, Katarzyna (avtor), Chowaniec, Anna (avtor), Doričić, Robert (avtor), Nowak, Marianne (avtor), Orzechowski, Marcin (avtor), Ramšak, Mojca (avtor), Łuków, Paweł (avtor), Muzur, Amir (avtor), Zupanič Slavec, Zvonka (avtor), Steger, Florian (avtor)

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.

• Jezik: Angleški jezik
• Ključne besede: healthcare access, discrimination, ethics, national legislation, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia
• Vrsta gradiva: Članek v reviji
• Tipologija: 1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
• Organizacija: MF - Medicinska fakulteta
• Status publikacije: Objavljeno
• Različica publikacije: Objavljena publikacija
• Leto izida: 2022
• Št. strani: 11 str.
• Številčenje: Vol. 22, art. 100
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-187847
• UDK: 614.39:39(4)
• ISSN pri članku: 1472-6963
• DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-07453-6
• COBISS.SI-ID: 95019779
• Datum objave v RUL: 15.09.2026

Gradivo je del revije

• Naslov: BMC health services research
• Skrajšan naslov: BMC health serv. res.
• Založnik: Springer Nature
• ISSN: 1472-6963
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2438932

Licence

• Licenca: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna
• Povezava: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.sl
• Opis: To je standardna licenca Creative Commons, ki daje uporabnikom največ možnosti za nadaljnjo uporabo dela, pri čemer morajo navesti avtorja.

Sekundarni jezik

• Jezik: Slovenski jezik
• Ključne besede: zdravstvena oskrba, dostopnost, etika, diskriminacija, zakonodaja, Nemčija, Poljska, Hrvaška, Slovenija