Cancer survival rates and GDP expenditure on health: a comparison of England and Wales and the USA, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland in the 1990s

Health funding is central to public health planning and clinical practice, hence this comparison of GDP health expenditure and five year post-diagnostic cancer survival rates of England and Wales with the USA and eight European countries. ree lowest proportional GDP health expenditures over the period 1980–1990 were Denmark, England and Wales, and Spain. The USA had the highest proportional GDP expenditure, followed by France, Germany, and The Netherlands. l the USA had the best cancer survival rates in the 14 sites reviewed, followed by Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Germany. The least successful were Spain, England and Wales, and Italy. pect to the high incidence cancers, colorectal, lung, and female breast cancers, England and Wales survival rates were the poorest of all ten countries, followed by Denmark and Spain. GDP health expenditure and longer survival rates for each gender were significantly correlated indicating a possible association between fiscal input and clinical outcomes, which poses problems for the development of effective public health. Public Health(2000) 114, 336–339