TY - GEN A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - The role of regional health policy for socioeconomic inequality in health services utilization T2 - European Journal of Public Health N2 - Background “J1” is a preventative routine examination in Germany recommended for adolescents at the age of 12-14 years. In contrast to the well-established U1-U9 examinations for younger children, with participation rates above 90%, the attendance of the J1 examination is approximately only 40%. The most frequent reason for not attending J1 is the unawareness of this examination. “Ticket to J1” is an intervention including an information leaflet introduced in Bavaria in 2017 to inform adolescents about J1. The aims of the present analysis are to investigate (1) if the regional policy was effective in increasing the attendance in J1, (2) if the effects vary by family socioeconomic status (SES), and (3) which meso-level characteristics of the healthcare system correlate with attendance rates in J1. Methods We used anonymised data of a large statutory health insurance in Germany for the timeframe of 2016-2018. To investigate the effect of the policy, a difference-in-differences design at the individual level was used. Assuming a parallel trend at the level of federal states, the likelihood of attendance in J1 of 13- and 14-year-olds was compared between Bavaria and other federal German states before and after policy introduction. All analyses were additionally stratified by SES. Results The introduction of “Ticket to J1” increased participation in J1 by 1% after controlling for all confounders. Furthermore, the effect was stronger for children from families with lower SES (an increase of 5%). Density of pediatricians was positively significantly correlated with participation in J1. Discussion Regional health policy intervention had a significant positive impact on attendance of J1 and appears to have the potential to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare utilization. Informing adolescents about J1 seems to increase the attendance, in particular for children from families with lower SES. KW - regional health policy KW - socioeconomic inequality KW - health services KW - utilization Y1 - 2022 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-UBICO/frontdoor/index/index/docId/29470 UR - https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/32/Supplement_3/ckac129.584/6765537?searchresult=1 SN - 1101-1262 SN - 1464-360X VL - 32 IS - Supplement_3 ER -