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Geographical Locations - Austria
 The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
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- (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 1,064
- CIA World Factbook - Austria
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National Policy and Related Documents
- Health Care Systems in Transition Profile - Austria
The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide an analytical description of a health system and of reform initiatives in progress or under development. The HiTs are a key element of the work of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. HiTs seek to provide relevant comparative information to support policy-makers and analysts in the development of health systems in Europe.
Reports, Guidelines, and Projects
- Availability of Mental Health Service Providers and Suicide Rates in Austria: A Nationwide Study
Objective: Evidence shows that access to mental health services may have an impact on mental health outcomes such as suicide rates. This small-area analysis examined whether the availability of professionals providing mental health treatment in Austria had an effect on regional suicide rates. Methods: A hierarchical Bayesian model accounting for spatially correlated random effects using an intrinsic conditional autoregressive prior that incorporated the neighborhood structure of districts and that assumed a Poisson distribution for the observed number of suicides was used to estimate the effects of access to mental health care (population density of general practitioners, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists) in Austria. Results: Regional socioeconomic factors were correlated with the density of psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Only the number of psychotherapists per 10,000 population had a significant effect on suicide rates (relative risk [RR]=.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.94–.997, and absolute risk reduction [ARR]=–.62, CI=–1.20 to –.11); however, after adjustment for socioeconomic factors (in particular urbanicity as indicated by population density, average income, and proportion of non-Catholics), the observed effects were no longer significant. In the final model, only the socioeconomic component remained significant (RR=.94, CI=.88–.99), and ARR=–1.17, CI=–2.34 to –.05). Conclusions: The availability of specialized mental health service providers was associated with regional socioeconomic factors, and these factors appeared to be stronger predictors of suicide rates than the availability of providers. Therefore, suicide prevention efforts need to acknowledge that availability of services is only one aspect of access to care; a more influential factor is whether availability satisfies local demand. [author abstract] [Psychiatric Services 61: 1198–1203, 2010]
- Breast cancer incidence and mortality in Tyrol/Austria after fifteen years of opportunistic mammography screening
Background: The aim of this study was to analyse breast cancer incidence and mortality in Tyrol from 1970 to 2006, namely after performing more than a decade of opportunistic mammography screening and just before piloting an organised screening programme. Our investigation was conducted on a population level. Methods: To study time trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality, we applied the age-period-cohort model by Poisson regression to the official mortality data covering more than three decades from 1970 to 2006 and to the incidence data ranging from 1988 to 2006. In addition, for incidence data we analysed data on breast cancer staging and compared these with EU guidelines. Results: For the analysis of time trend in breast cancer mortality in age groups 40-79, an age-period-cohort model fits well and shows for years 2002-2006 a statistically significant reduction of 26% (95% CI 13%-36%) in breast cancer mortality as compared to 1992-1996. We see only slight non-significant increases in breast cancer incidence. For the past five years, incidence data show a 10% proportion of in situ cases, and of 50% for cases in stages II+. Conclusions: The opportunistic breast cancer screening programme in Tyrol has only in part exploited the mortality reduction known for organised screening programmes. There seems to be potential for further improvement, and we recommend that an organised screening programme and a detailed screening database be introduced to collect all information needed to analyse the quality indicators suggested by the EU guidelines. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2010, 10: 86]
- Entry and Exit of Physicians in a two-tiered public/private Health Care System
Firm turnover has recently attracted increased interest in economic research. The entry of new firms increases competition and promises efficiency gains. Moreover, changes in the market structure influence productivity growth, because firm entry usually leads to increased innovation. The health care market exhibits important differences as compared to other markets, including various forms of market failure and, as a consequence, extensive market regulation. Thus, the economic effects of entries and exits in health care markets are less obvious. The following paper studies the determinants of entry and exit decisions of physicians in the private sector of the outpatient part of the Austrian health care system. We apply a Poisson panel estimation to a data set of 2,379 local communities and 121 districts in Austria in the time period 2002 - 2008. We are particularly interested in the question how public physicians (GPs/specialists) and their private counterparts influence the entrance and exit of private physicians. We find a significantly negative effect of existing capacities, measured by both private and public physician density of the same specialty, on the entry of new private physicians. On the contrary, we find a significantly positive effect of private GPs on the entry of private specialists. Interestingly, this cooperation/network effect also works in the other direction, as a higher density of private specialists increases the probability of the market entry of private GPs. Based on the results of previous literature, we thus conclude that private physicians establish networks to cooperate in terms of mutual referrals etc. Our estimations for market exits basically confirm the entry results, as higher competitive forces positively influence the market exit of private physicians. [author abstract] [The Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State, JKU Linz, Working Paper No. 1011, January 2011]
- Italy and Austria before and after study: second-hand smoke exposure in hospitality premises before and after 2 years from the introduction of the Italian smoking ban
The aim of this paper was to compare nicotine concentration in 28 hospitality premises (HPs) in Florence and Belluno, Italy, where a smoking ban was introduced in 2005, and in 19 HPs in Vienna, Austria, where no antismoking law entered into force up to now. Airborne nicotine concentrations were measured in the same HPs in winter 2002 or 2004 (pre-ban measurements) and winter 2007 (post-ban measurements). In Florence and Belluno, medians decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from 8.86 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.41– 45.07)] before the ban to 0.01 µg/m3 (IQR: 0.01–0.41) afterwards. In Austria (no smoking ban) the medians collected in winters 2004 and 2007 were, respectively, 11.00 (IQR: 2.53–30.38) and 15.76 µg/m3 (IQR: 2.22–31.93), with no significant differences. Measurements collected in winter 2007 in 28 HPs located in Naples, Turin, Milan (0.01 µg/m3; IQR: 0.01–0.16) confirmed post-ban results in Florence and Belluno. The medians of nicotine concentrations in Italy and Austria before the Italian ban translates, using the risk model of Repace and Lowery, into a lifetime excess lung cancer mortality risk for hospitality workers of 11.81 and 14.67 per 10,000, respectively. Lifetime excess lung cancer mortality risks for bar and disco–pub workers were 10–20 times higher than that calculated for restaurant workers, both in Italy and Austria. In winter 2007, it dropped to 0.01 per 10,000 in Italy, whereas in Austria it remained at the same levels. The drop of second-hand smoke exposure indicates a substantial improvement in air quality in Italian HPs even after 2 years from the ban. [Indoor Air, 2008; 18: 328–334]
- Physician density in a two-tiered health care system
We investigate the density of private physicians in a two-tiered health care system, i.e., one with co-existing public and private health care providers. In particular, we analyze how the densities of private and public suppliers of outpatient health care (general practitioners and specialists) are related to each other. Using a panel of 121 Austrian districts between 2002 and 2008, we find that the density of private specialists is positively associated with the density of private general practitioners, but negatively related to the density of public general practitioners. We also observe a negative relationship between the densities of private and public general practitioners and the ones of private and public specialists, indicating competitive forces between the private and the public sector of the outpatient health care provision in Austria. [author abstract] [University of Salzburg, Working Papers in Economics and Finance, Working Paper No. 2011/05, March 2011]
- Public Health in Austria
"Orientating health policy solely towards the health care sector is too limited. Modern health policy, which is characterised by a public health orientation, combines scientific, organisational and political efforts in order to promote the health of populations or defined population groups and creates health care systems which show a stronger focus on needs-orientation and efficiency. Needs-orientated health care services, quality, effectiveness, efficiency, free access and equitable health services should be in the emphasized when aiming to ensure the optimal level of health care services for the population in the long term. The Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions commissioned the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to undertake an analysis of the present status quo of Public Health in Austria, as well as compiling recommendations for further improvement. The present report is intended to highlight areas of Public Health in which Austria still has some catching up to do in order to cope with the challenges lying ahead." [Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions, Vienna, April 2010]
- Public Health in Austria – Case study: "Antenatal Care in Austria and Selected Countries"
"The present report consists of three chapters and an appendix. The focus is placed on antenatal care as part of maternity care… Chapter I provides an analysis of the Austrian status quo with regard to maternity care. This chapter begins by briefly describing maternity care in general1 by outlining the relevant legal foundations, involved stakeholders, funding, service provision and current major challenges in the field. Then the mother-child-pass examination programme, a national screening programme for mothers and children, is described whereby the focus is placed entirely on antenatal care. Finally conclusions on the Austrian situation are drawn… Chapter II takes an international perspective and provides an overview of best practice examples for antenatal care in selected countries. The countries included in this chapter are: the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Sweden (in part) and the American Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization (HMO). Countries and best practice examples were chosen in accordance with the Austrian situation, with the main intention being to ensure comparability of examinations and guidelines within the countries and health systems as well as applicability within the Austrian context… Chapter III includes recommendations for Austria which are based on the findings presented in Chapter I and II. Recommendations are intended to facilitate the potential implementation of a pilot project in the narrower mother-child-pass examination programme setting in Austria... The Appendix of the report is divided into two parts, one (Appendix of Chapter I) gives further information on the Austrian situation (Appendix 1-4), the other (Appending of Chapter II) provides additional information on the international evidence given (Appendix 1-6)." [Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions, Vienna, January 2010]
- Social marketing and the establishment of the ISW-TBE
Vaccination can only be offered effectively to the general public by the means of social marketing. Experience gained with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Austria will be used to demonstrate the need and importance of this public health tool. After the realisation that only mass vaccination would effect a decrease in the number of TBE cases, a nation-wide TBE vaccination programme was initiated in 1981. Since then there has been a dramatic decrease in the incidence of TBE. The annual TBE-vaccination campaign is by far the most visible of all public health programmes in Austria and has been instrumental in reaching the present vaccination rate of 86% in this country. Outside of Austria TBE is rapidly becoming a growing public health problem in Europe and other parts of the world. In order to effectively contribute toward public health in general and, in specific, to encourage the control of TBE, an international effort was launched with the aim of alleviating this situation. As a first step towards this objective, renowned international experts on TBE created a new body: The International Scientific Working Group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis (ISW-TBE). This Working Group is comprised of internationally recognised scientific experts from endemic and non-endemic regions with extensive personal expertise in the field of TBE and a high level of commitment to improving the knowledge of and response to TBE. [author abstract] [Vaccine 3671 (2002) 1–4]
- The Austrian Health Care System – Key Facts
The Austrian health care system is characterised by a high density of easily accessible health care facilities. In 2008 a total of 267 hospitals with about 64 300 beds were available for in-patient care. At that point in time about 21 000 physicians and more than 80 000 other health care professionals were employed in Austrian hospitals. 75% of the 80 000 other health care professionals worked in nursing care. The density of physicians in Austria is above the European average and amounted to 5 physicians (including dentists) per 1 000 inhabitants in 2008. In the same year the total amount of practising physicians was 41 830, thereof 12 200 were general practitioners and about 18 200 worked as specialists. In addition, about 6 700 physicians were in training. Some overlap may exist between the different aforementioned groups due to physicians having multiple training. By the end of 2008 about 18 900 physicians (general practitioners and specialists) were self-employed physicians working in their own practices. Together with more than 900 out-patient clinics they ensure high-level out-patient health care.” [Bundesministerium fũr Gesundheit, June 2010]
- Trends in educational mortality differentials in Austria between 1981/82 and 2001/2002: A study based on a linkage of census data and death certificates
Background: Many studies for European populations found an increase in socioeconomic mortality differentials during the last decades of the 20th century, at least in relative terms. The aim of our paper is to explore the situation in Austria, for a wide age range, over a period of 20 years. Methods: Based on a linkage of census information and death certificates, we computed age and education specific death rates. We calculate life expectancies at age 35 by educational level as well as regression-based measures of absolute (SII) and relative (RII) inequality, for the periods 1981/82, 1991/92, and 2001/2002. Results: Life expectancy increased faster for the higher educated in the 1980s, whereas this trend reversed in the following decade. For males at working ages an increase in relative mortality differentials was observed during the 1980s. Absolute mortality differentials decreased among elderly females in the 1990s, particularly for circulatory disease mortality. Altogether the educational pattern of mortality was rather stable in Austria at the end of the 20th century. Conclusions: Compared with results from other countries, trends in educational mortality differentials seem to be rather favorable in Austria in the 1990s. A stable health care system, the healthy migrant effect, and relatively low unemployment rates may have contributed to stable mortality differentials. However, an important explanation is also the inclusion of higher ages in our study. [author abstract] [Demographic Research: Volume 19, Article 51, pp. 1759-1780, October 2008]
- Tuberculosis in Austria: An Evaluation of the Austrian Tuberculosis Surveillance System
"Aim: To assess whether the system is able to reliably measure the burden of tuberculosis in the Austrian population and how valid the generated data are, which are then used for public health action in order to reduce TB-morbidity and TB-mortality and to improve health. Objective: To reliably and comprehensively identify weaknesses of the system in order to allow appropriate recommendations for improvements at any level of the system to the stakeholders; [and] to identify strengths of the system in order to provide feedback to the relevant components of the surveillance system." [AGES, Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit, 2010]
Educational Resources
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