title: Inequity in waiting for cataract surgery--an analysis of data from the Swedish National Cataract Register.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Swedish Health and Medical Services act states that good care should be given to the entire population on equal terms. Still studies show that access to care in Sweden differ related to for example gender and socioeconomic variables. One of the areas in Swedish health care that has attracted attention for potential inequity in access is Cataract Extraction (CE). Previous studies of access to CE in Sweden show that female patients have in general poorer vision before they are operated and longer waiting times for CE than male patients. The aim of the study was to describe the waiting times in different patient groups with regards to visual acuity, gender, age, native country, educational level, annual income and whether the patient was retired or still working.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was designed as a register study of 102 532 patients who have had CE performed in Sweden 2010-2011. Linear regression was used to analyse the association between patient characteristics and waiting times. Mean waiting times for women and men were calculated for all groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At significance level p < 0.05 longer waiting times corresponded to patients having good visual acuity, being of female gender, high age, retired, born outside the Nordic countries and having low income and education. Calculations of mean waiting times for all groups showed that women had longer waiting times than men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The differences between groups defined, for example, by gender, age, native country, income, education and retirement are statistically significant. We do not consider them as clinically significant, but we consider the consistent pattern that we have found noteworthy in relation to the principle of equity in health care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden. goldina.smirthwaite@lnu.se.
authors.forename: Goldina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smirthwaite
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, 221 85, Lund, Sweden. mats.lundstrom@karlskrona.mail.telia.com.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lundström
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden. barbro.wijma@liu.se.
authors.forename: Barbro
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wijma
authors.affiliation: Department of Gender Studies, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden. nina.lykke@liu.se.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lykke
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden. katarina.swahnberg@lnu.se.
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Swahnberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013222:State Medicine / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014850:Waiting Lists