Class Year

2017

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Fall 2015

Department 1

Center for Global Education

Abstract

Despite their analogous status as economically developed nations, the United States and Scandinavian countries have marked differences in their healthcare systems. In particular both areas discernibly differ in the antenatal treatment provided for expecting women and their babies. Sweden and Denmark’s healthcare systems are universal, run primarily on taxpayer dollars, and provide equal antenatal care regardless of socioeconomic status. The United States’ healthcare system is run on a combination of private and government run insurance, in which socioeconomic status often determines insurance coverage. This variability in insurance coverage often results in differing levels of antenatal care. An overarching question remains as to how women of low socioeconomic status receive differing antenatal care in the United States and Scandinavia. Antenatal care discrepancies between the two systems emanate a difference in patient outcomes and patient satisfaction of their treatment. Analyzing the differences in these outcomes can better point to which health care system provides more effective antenatal care. Women of lower socioeconomic status in Sweden and Denmark receive superior antenatal care than women of a comparable socioeconomic status in the United States. [excerpt]

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