POLICY GAPS IN AGEING SOCIETIES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HEALTHCARE ACCESS AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN OECD COUNTRIES

Population ageing has become a defining demographic trend in many countries, raising important concerns about the sustainability and accessibility of healthcare systems. While existing research has largely focused on the fiscal implications of ageing, relatively less attention has been given to healthcare access inequalities, particularly among older populations. This study aims to examine potential policy gaps in ageing societies by analysing the relationship between demographic ageing, healthcare workforce capacity and unmet healthcare needs. The analysis is based on secondary data obtained from the OECD, the World Bank and Eurostat. Due to data availability constraints, particularly for unmet healthcare needs (ANMEX) indicators, the dataset was restricted to the period starting from 2008 and observations with missing values were excluded to ensure consistency. The final dataset consists of country-year observations structured in a long format. The study employs descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and panel data regression analysis. Model selection was guided by the Hausman specification test and a random-effects model was estimated to examine the relationship between population ageing, physician density and unmet healthcare needs. The findings reveal that while population ageing does not have a statistically significant direct effect on unmet healthcare needs, physician density was negatively associated with unmet healthcare needs. These findings suggest that healthcare system capacity may play an important role in shaping healthcare access outcomes, although the observed relationship should be interpreted cautiously. The results indicate that ageing does not automatically lead to increased access problems, but insufficient system capacity may create barriers in healthcare delivery. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening healthcare workforce planning and resource allocation in order to ensure equitable access in ageing societies.