Inequalities in Use of Health Services among Jews and Arabs in Israel

The authors report on a cross-sectional National Health Interview survey conducted in Israel as part of the EUROHIS project (WHO European Health Interview Survey 2003???2004). Data were based on a random telephone survey including 9,352 interviews. After adjusting for sex, age, income, education, marital status, and self-reported chronic diseases, Arabs more often reported visiting a family physician and less often reported visiting a specialist, compared to Jews. The odds ratio for hospitalization was similar among Arabs and Jews. SES was associated with utilization of health care services only in the Jewish population. Findings show a different pattern of utilization of health care services for Arabs and Jews, which was not explained by differences in socioeconomic levels.