title: Greece's health crisis: from austerity to denialism.
abstract: Greece's economic crisis has deepened since it was bailed out by the international community in 2010. The country underwent the sixth consecutive year of economic contraction in 2013, with its economy shrinking by 20% between 2008 and 2012, and anaemic or no growth projected for 2014. Unemployment has more than tripled, from 7·7% in 2008 to 24·3% in 2012, and long-term unemployment reached 14·4%. We review the background to the crisis, assess how austerity measures have affected the health of the Greek population and their access to public health services, and examine the political response to the mounting evidence of a Greek public health tragedy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and King's College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: aek37@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kentikelenis
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London, UK.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karanikolos
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.affiliation: European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stuckler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D057172:Economic Recession / Q000639:trends; D005062:European Union; D006115:Greece; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011057:Politics; D011634:Public Health / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D017150:Public Sector; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D014478:Unemployment