Keywords: East Asia Pacific countries, cluster analysis, transnational healthcare policies
Objective-To differentiate East Asia Pacific countries into clusters based on demographic and important healthcare indicators. Methods- World Bank HNP database for 24 East Asia Pacific (EAP) countries used for cross-sectional study (time-period 1995-2014). Hierarchical cluster analysis technique used to determine and establish appropriate clusters based on average annual growth rates (AAGRs) calculated for selected indicators. One-way ANOVA test conducted to identify significant contributors in categorization of countries. Results-Cluster 1 comprised eleven high, upper-middle, and lower-middle countries. Cluster 2 and 3 included six countries each containing high, upper-middle, lower-middle and low income countries. Cluster 4 included only one country Cambodia. Health expenditure per capita, public health expenditure, out-of-pocket health expenditure, and infant mortality rate were significant contributors in predicting group membership (p-values<0.05). Conclusion-East Asia Pacific countries can be grouped based on (dis)similarities in demographic and health care indicators for developing mutually beneficial transnational healthcare policies transcending national boundaries.