UTILIZATION AND CHOICE OF HEALTH CARE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55955/220003Keywords:
Health care utilization, Choice of health care provider, Discrete choice model, Disease specification, Determinants of choiceAbstract
Utilization and choice of health care services are two important decision-making issues once an individual perceives or realizes illness. Identifying and measuring the factors that influence health care utilization and choice are important concern for policy makers, to reduce health system inequality. Both demand and supply side factors influence the above-mentioned choice decisions. However, the nature and severity of illness can also affect the above choice decisions. This study has identified and measured the role of disease specification as an important determinant of choice decision along with its influence on other factors. This study also explored the regional and socio-economic variation of factors which hinder the utilization of government-provided health care services. Analyzing the data of women and child household members, the study found that disease specification affects the choice of health care provider and even influences the role of other important factors.
References
Abiodun, O. A., & Olu-Abiodun, O. O. (2014). The determinants of choice of Health Facility in Sagamu, south-west, Nigeria. Sch J Appl Med Sci, 1(2), 274-282.
Akin JS, Griffin C, Guilkey DK, et al. The demand for primary health care services in the Bicol region of the Philippines. Econ Dev Cultur Change 1986; 34: 755-82 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/451558
Akin JS, Guilkey DK, Denton EH. Quality of services and demand for health care in Nigeria: a multinomial probit estimation. Soc Sci Med 1995; 40 (11): 1526-37 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(94)00274-W
Alaba, O. A. and Koch, S. F., 2007, Household Structure, Social Protection and Health Seeking Behaviour in South Africa, http://repository.up.ac.za/dspace/bitstream/2263/4290/1/Alaba_Household%282007%29.pdf
Amaghionyeodiwe, L. A. (2008). Determinants of the choice of health care provider in Nigeria. Health care management science, 11(3), 215-227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-007-9038-3
Andaleeb, S. S. (2000). Public and private hospitals in Bangladesh: service quality and predictors of hospital choice. Health policy and planning, 15(1), 95-102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/15.1.95
Anderson, J. G., & Bartkus, D. E. (1973). Choice of medical care: a behavioral model of health and illness behavior. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 348-362. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2136779
B. J. Borah, “A mixed logit model of health care provider choice: analysis of NSS data for rural India.,” Health economics, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 915–32, Sep. 2006.
Berendes, S., Heywood, P., Oliver, S., & Garner, P. (2011). Quality of private and public ambulatory health care in low and middle income countries: systematic review of comparative studies. PLoS Med, 8(4), e1000433. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000433
Berman P, Ahuja R, Bhandari L (2010) The impoverishing effect of healthcare payments in India: new methodology and findings. Economic & Political Weekly 45(16): 65–71
Bolduc D, Lacroix G, Muller C. The choice of medical providers in rural Benin: a comparison of discrete choice models. J Health Econ 1996; 15 (4): 477-98 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6296(96)00492-4
Bush, P. J., & Iannotti, R. J. (1990). A children's health belief model. Medical care, 69-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199001000-00008
Carr-Hill, R. A., Rice, N., & Roland, M. (1996). Socioeconomic determinants of rates of consultation in general practice based on fourth national morbidity survey of general practices. Bmj, 312(7037), 1008-1012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7037.1008
Černauskas, V., Angeli, F., Jaiswal, A. K., & Pavlova, M. (2018). Underlying determinants of health provider choice in urban slums: results from a discrete choice experiment in Ahmedabad, India. BMC health services research, 18(1), 473. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3264-x
Chen, L. C., Huq, E., & d'Souza, S. (1981). Sex bias in the family allocation of food and health care in rural Bangladesh. Population and development review, 55-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1972764
De Costa, A., & Diwan, V. (2007). ‘Where is the public health sector?’: Public and private sector healthcare provision in Madhya Pradesh, India. Health Policy, 84(2-3), 269-276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2007.04.004
Dey, D. K., & Mishra, V. (2014). Determinants of choice of healthcare services utilization: empirical evidence from India. Indian Journal of Community Health, 26(4), 356-363.
Dow WH. Flexible discrete choice demand models consistent with utility maximization: an application to health care demand. Am J Agric Econ 1999; 81 (3): 680-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1244034
Ensor, T., & Cooper, S. (2004). Overcoming barriers to health service access: influencing the demand side. Health policy and planning, 19(2), 69-79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czh009
Ganatra, B., & Hirve, S. (1994). Male bias in health care utilization for under-fives in a rural community in western India. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 72(1), 101.
Garg CC, Karan AK (2009) Reducing out-of-pocket expenditures to reduce poverty: a disaggregated analysis at rural-urban and state level in India. Health Policy and planning 24(2): 116–128 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czn046
Gautham, M., Shyamprasad, K. M., Singh, R., Zachariah, A., Singh, R., & Bloom, G. (2014). Informal rural healthcare providers in North and South India. Health policy and planning, 29(suppl_1), i20-i29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czt050
Gertler P, Van der Gaag J. The willingness to pay for medical care: evidence from two developing countries. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990
Ghosh, S. (2004). Socio-economic factors influencing utilisation of maternal health care in Uttar Pradesh: An analysis of NFHS-2 data. Social Change, 34(4), 61-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/004908570403400405
Gupta I, Dasgupta P. Demand for curative health care in rural India: choosing between private, public and no care. New Delhi: Institute of Economic Growth, 2000
Gupta, I., Chowdhury, S., Prinja, S., & Trivedi, M. (2016). Out-of-pocket spending on out-patient care in India: assessment and options based on results from a district level survey. PLoS One, 11(11), e0166775. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0166775
Heller P. A model of the demand for medical and health services in Peninsular Malaysia. Soc Sci Med 1982; 16 (3): 267-84 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(82)90337-9
Hjortsberg, C., 2006, Determinants of Household Health Care Expenditure-The Case of Zambia, WP-1120, The Swedish Institute for Health Economics
I. T. Elo, 1992 “Utilization of maternal health-care services in Peru: the role of women’s education.,” Health transition review, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 49–69, Apr. 1992.
J. Borah, B. (2006). A mixed logit model of health care provider choice: analysis of NSS data for rural India. Health economics, 15(9), 915-932. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.1166
Jutting, J. P. (2001). The impact of health insurance on the access to health care and financial protection in rural developing countries: the example of Senegal. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Kesterton, A. J., Cleland, J., Sloggett, A., & Ronsmans, C. (2010). Institutional delivery in rural India: the relative importance of accessibility and economic status. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 10(1), 30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-10-30
Kloos, H. (1990). Utilization of selected hospitals, health centres and health stations in central, southern and western Ethiopia. Social science & medicine, 31(2), 101-114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(90)90052-T
Knight, L., & Maharaj, P. (2009). Use of public and private health services in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 26(1), 17-28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03768350802640040
Kumar, S., Dansereau, E. A., & Murray, C. J. (2014). Does distance matter for institutional delivery in rural India?. Applied Economics, 46(33), 4091-4103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2014.950836
Makinen, M, Waters, H, Rauch, M, Almagambetova, N, Bitran, R, Gilson, L, Mcintyre, D, Pannarunothai, S, Prieto, Al, Ubilla, G & Ram, S, 2000. Inequalities in health care use and expenditures: empirical data from eight developing countries and countries in transition. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 78: 55–65.
Makinen, M., Waters, H., Rauch, M., Almagambetova, N., Bitrán, R., Gilson, L., ... & Ram, S. (2000). Inequalities in health care use and expenditures: empirical data from eight developing countries and countries in transition. Bulletin of the world health organization, 78, 55-65.
Mishra, V., & Retherford, R. D. (2008). The effect of antenatal care on professional assistance at delivery in rural India. Population Research and Policy Review, 27(3), 307-320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-007-9064-3
Mwabu G, Ainsworth M, Nyamete A. Quality of medical care and choice of medical treatment in Kenya: an empirical analysis. J Hum Resources 1993; 28 (4): 838-62 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/146295
Mwabu G, Mwanzia J, Laimbila W. User charges in government health facilities in Kenya. Health Policy Plan 1995; 10 (2): 164-70 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/10.2.164
N. Sawhney, “Management of family welfare programme in Uttar Pradesh. Infrastructure utilization, quality of services, supervision and MIS.,” in Family Planning and MCH in Uttar Pradesh (A Review of Studies), M. Premi, Ed. New Delhi: India, Indian Association for the Study of Population, 1993, pp. 50–67.
Nandakumar AK, Berman P, Fleming E. 1999. Findings of the Egyptian Healthcare Provider Survey. Technical Report 26. Partnerships for Health Reform Project, Abt Associates Inc., Bethesda, MD
Nandi, A., Ashok, A., & Laxminarayan, R. (2013). The socioeconomic and institutional determinants of participation in India’s health insurance scheme for the poor. PloS one, 8(6), e66296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066296
Neumark, Y., Palti, H., Donchin, M., & Ellencweig, A. Y. (1992). Utilization of pediatric health services in Jerusalem. Journal of community health, 17(5), 271-282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01324357
Newacheck, P. W., Stoddard, J. J., Hughes, D. C., & Pearl, M. (1998). Health insurance and access to primary care for children. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(8), 513-519. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199802193380806
Noorali, R., Luby, S., & Hossein Rahbar, M. (1999). Does use of a government service depend on distance from the health facility?. Health policy and planning, 14(2), 191-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/14.2.191
Oyekale, A. S., & Eluwa, C. G. (2009). Utilization of health-care and health insurance among rural households in Irewole Local Government, Osun State, Nigeria. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 4(2), 70-75.
Palmer, N., Mills, A., Wadee, H., Gilson, L., & Schneider, H. (2003). A new face for private providers in developing countries: what implications for public health?. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81, 292-297.
Pillai, R. K., Williams, S. V., Glick, H. A., Polsky, D., Berlin, J. A., & Lowe, R. A. (2003). Factors affecting decisions to seek treatment for sick children in Kerala, India. Social science & medicine, 57(5), 783-790. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00448-3
Qian, D., Lucas, H., Chen, J., Xu, L., & Zhang, Y. (2010). Determinants of the use of different types of health care provider in urban China: a tracer illness study of URTI. Health policy, 98(2-3), 227-235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.06.014
Rajpurohit, A. C., Srivastava, A. K., & Srivastava, V. K. (2013). Utilization of primary health centre services amongst rural population of northern India-some socio-demographic correlates. Indian Journal of Community Health, 25(4), 445-450.
Rout, S. K. (2015). Utilization of outpatient care services in Odisha: Factors determining the choice of public or private health care facility. Journal of Health Management, 17(3), 381-393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063415589244
Sahn ED, Younger S, Genicot G. The demand for health services in rural Tanzania. Oxford Bull Econ Stat 2003; 65 (2): 241-60 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0084.t01-2-00046
Sarma, S. (2009). Demand for outpatient healthcare. Applied health economics and health policy, 7(4), 265-277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03256160
Sauerborn, R., et al., 1996, Age bias, but no gender bias, in the intra-household resource allocation for health care in rural Burkina Faso, Health Transition Review 6, 1996, 131-145
Sawhney, N. (1993). Management of family welfare programmes in Uttar Pradesh: infrastructure utilisation, quality of services, supervision and MIS. Family planning and MCH in Uttar Pradesh (a review of studies), 1993, 50-67.
Schwartz JB, Akin JS, Popkin BM. Price and income elasticities of demand for modern health care: the case of infant delivery in the Philippines. World Bank Econ Rev 1988; 2 (1): 49-76 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/2.1.49
Seeberg, J., Pannarunothai, S., Padmawati, R. S., Trisnantoro, L., Barua, N., & Pandav, C. S. (2014). Treatment seeking and health financing in selected poor urban neighbourhoods in India, Indonesia and Thailand. Social Science & Medicine, 102, 49-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.039
Uchendu, O. C., Ilesanmi, O. S., & Olumide, A. E. (2013). Factors influencing the choice of health care providing facility among workers in a local government secretariat in south western Nigeria. Annals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine, 11(2), 87-95.
Van der Stuyft, P., Delgado, E., & Sorensen, S. C. (1997). Utilisation rates and expenditure for public and private, curative-care services in semi-urban Guatemala. Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology, 91(2), 209-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00034983.1997.11813131
Van Doorslaer E, O’Donnell O, Rannan-Eliya RP, Somanathan A, Adhikari SR, et al. (2006) Effect of payments for health care on poverty estimates in 11 countries in Asia: an analysis of household survey data.The Lancet 368(9544): 1357–1364. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69560-3
WHO, “World Health Statistics 2012,” World Health Organization, Geneva, 2012.
World Health Organization. Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. Macroeconomics and health: investing in health for economic development. Geneva: WHO, 2001
Yip, W. C., Wang, H., & Liu, Y. (1998). Determinants of patient choice of medical provider: a case study in rural China. Health policy and planning, 13(3), 311-322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/13.3.311
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Mr. Saswata Chaudhury, Dr. Archana Aggarwal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.