The Current Climate of Clinical Trials in Russia and Ukraine | Page 3

RUSSIA
Health Care in Russia
The health of the population, level of health care and
expense of health care has resulted in a patient base
that is relatively willing to access clinical trials to
supplement the publicly available treatment options.
Health Status
The life expectancy in Russia (70.2 years) is 10 years
lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of
80.2 years8 and is lower in men than in women by
approximately 12 years.9 Not only do men consume
more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes than women,
they also are less likely to visit the doctor; when
they do, they generally have poor compliance with
recommendations.10,11 As expected, this gender-based
discrepancy is reflected in the quality of health, which
is already poor for both genders, with a disability-life
expectancy of 65.5 years for women and 54.3 years
for men.9
The three main causes of death in the country
are cardiovascular diseases, cancers and external
causes.9,12 In addition, respiratory diseases accounted
for 3309 diseases/1,000 population in 2012.13
Particularly in southern Russia, there are
some endemic infectious diseases, with a dramatic
increase in tuberculosis, particularly multidrugresistant tuberculosis.9

Level of Care
The health-care system consists primarily of public
hospitals, with private hospitals accounting for
only 2% of the approximately 6,500 hospitals in the
country.9 Per 1,000 population in 2012, there were 4.9
physicians (OECD average, 3.2) and 9.3 hospital beds
(OECD average, 4.8).8
In addition, a number of specialized centers exist,
including the Cardiology Research Center and
Oncology Research Center.

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With a population of ~144 million
people,1,2 of which 73.9% live in
urban areas,2,3 Russia in particular
provides a promising pool of
potential, often
treatment-naïve participants for
clinical trials.

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