Private and public primary healthcare provider listing according to self-reported illness burden after the free choice reform : a cross-sectional study in southern Sweden
(2026) In Scandinavian Journal of Public Health- Abstract
Aims: To investigate differences between respondents’ self-reported registration with public and private primary healthcare (PHC) providers according to self-reported illness burden in the early phase of the free choice reform. Methods: The Public Health Survey undertaken in Scania, southernmost Sweden, in 2012 was a population-based study of a stratified random sample of 18–80-year olds that elicited a 51.7% participation rate. The survey included data on PHC provider type, age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, country of birth, and self-reported illness burden measured as poor psychological health (via the 12-item General Health Questionnaire; GHQ12), poor self-rated health, and self-reported chronic illness. Poor... (More)
Aims: To investigate differences between respondents’ self-reported registration with public and private primary healthcare (PHC) providers according to self-reported illness burden in the early phase of the free choice reform. Methods: The Public Health Survey undertaken in Scania, southernmost Sweden, in 2012 was a population-based study of a stratified random sample of 18–80-year olds that elicited a 51.7% participation rate. The survey included data on PHC provider type, age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, country of birth, and self-reported illness burden measured as poor psychological health (via the 12-item General Health Questionnaire; GHQ12), poor self-rated health, and self-reported chronic illness. Poor psychological health (GHQ12), poor self-rated health, and self-reported chronic illness were analyzed together in logistic regression models with public versus private PHC provider as the dichotomous outcome. Results: In 2012, 55.2% reported being listed with a public PHC provider, 26.1% a private PHC provider, and 18.6% did not know what type their provider was. In the final multi-adjusted logistic regression model, the odds ratios of reporting private PHC provider were 1.01 (0.91–1.13) among respondents with poor psychological health, 0.98 (0.89–1.07) among respondents with poor self-rated health, and a non-significant 1.09 (1.00–1.20) among respondents with self-reported chronic illness. Conclusions: After adjusting for relevant confounders, no statistically significant differences were found between private and public PHC providers, according to self-reported illness burden in Scania in 2012.
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- author
- Johansson, Christine ; Pirouzifard, Mirnabi LU and Lindström, Martin LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- chronic illness, free choice reform, GHQ12, Health services, healthcare reform, primary healthcare, privatization, self-rated health, socioeconomic status, Sweden
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105039418614
- pmid:42163507
- ISSN
- 1403-4948
- DOI
- 10.1177/14034948261444138
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 94e16e53-5e6d-4d28-bca1-e63c7098db08
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-25 14:37:51
- date last changed
- 2026-08-26 03:00:01
@article{94e16e53-5e6d-4d28-bca1-e63c7098db08,
abstract = {{<p>Aims: To investigate differences between respondents’ self-reported registration with public and private primary healthcare (PHC) providers according to self-reported illness burden in the early phase of the free choice reform. Methods: The Public Health Survey undertaken in Scania, southernmost Sweden, in 2012 was a population-based study of a stratified random sample of 18–80-year olds that elicited a 51.7% participation rate. The survey included data on PHC provider type, age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, country of birth, and self-reported illness burden measured as poor psychological health (via the 12-item General Health Questionnaire; GHQ12), poor self-rated health, and self-reported chronic illness. Poor psychological health (GHQ12), poor self-rated health, and self-reported chronic illness were analyzed together in logistic regression models with public versus private PHC provider as the dichotomous outcome. Results: In 2012, 55.2% reported being listed with a public PHC provider, 26.1% a private PHC provider, and 18.6% did not know what type their provider was. In the final multi-adjusted logistic regression model, the odds ratios of reporting private PHC provider were 1.01 (0.91–1.13) among respondents with poor psychological health, 0.98 (0.89–1.07) among respondents with poor self-rated health, and a non-significant 1.09 (1.00–1.20) among respondents with self-reported chronic illness. Conclusions: After adjusting for relevant confounders, no statistically significant differences were found between private and public PHC providers, according to self-reported illness burden in Scania in 2012.</p>}},
author = {{Johansson, Christine and Pirouzifard, Mirnabi and Lindström, Martin}},
issn = {{1403-4948}},
keywords = {{chronic illness; free choice reform; GHQ12; Health services; healthcare reform; primary healthcare; privatization; self-rated health; socioeconomic status; Sweden}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Public Health}},
title = {{Private and public primary healthcare provider listing according to self-reported illness burden after the free choice reform : a cross-sectional study in southern Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14034948261444138}},
doi = {{10.1177/14034948261444138}},
year = {{2026}},
}