Socioeconomic determinants of medicines use in Central Eastern Europe: the role of pharmaceutical policy in reducing inequalities

Even though access to essential medicines is a human right, inequalities in access resulting in differences in medicine use between socioeconomic groups are known from several countries world-wide. However, the socioeconomic determinants of medicine use in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have not yet been explored. For a sample of eight countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia), this study thus aims to analyse whether socioeconomic status influences medicine use and investigates to what extent observed inequalities can be explained by current (lack of) pharmaceutical policies and how policies can help reduce existing inequalities.