Abstract
Aim
As the government of India has been undertaking various initiatives since 2005 (launch year of National Rural Health Mission) to increase the utilization of public healthcare facilities, it is very important to investigate the factors governing their utilization. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the determinants of utilization of public healthcare facilities in India.
Subject and methods
The data for the study were collected using a comprehensive structured interview schedule. Data were collected from 399 outpatients of district hospitals of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. A logit model was used to study the variables determining the use of public healthcare facilities.
Results
The results showed that distance and waiting time are negatively related to utilization, whereas satisfaction with hospital services and provision of free medicines are positively related and significantly increase the odds in favour of utilization of public hospitals. It was found that more than 60% of outpatients belonged to groups below the poverty line (BPL) and Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families, but most of them had to spend out of pocket for medicines and diagnostic tests.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that service delivery and provision of free medicines significantly increase the odds in favour of utilization whereas delayed services and distance decrease the odds in favour of utilization.
Implications
The outcomes of this study are significant to achieve universal health coverage. Our study indicates that user fees should be abolished at least for economically disadvantaged patients, and the availability of medicines should be improved significantly to increase the utilization of public helathcare facilities as envisaged in National Health Policy, 2017.
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Shahid Hamid Raina conceived the study. He collected the data that was necessary for the execution of the study. He also wrote the introduction part of the paper.
Khursheed Hussain Dar analyzed the data and also did the first revision of the manuscript.
Samir-ul –Hassan wrote the discussion part of the paper and also did the second revision of the paper.
Masroor Ahmad wrote the literature review for the paper and also proofread the manuscript before submission.
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Ethical statement
The study did not require any ethical approval. However, prior consent was taken from the administrators of the surveyed health facilities for interviewing the patients. Further, verbal consent of respondents was taken for participating in the survey. The personal information of the respondents was kept completely confidential.
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Not Applicable. However, the respondents were informed about the purpose of the study. Prior consent was taken for them for participating in the study.
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Raina, S.H., Dar, K.H., Hassan, Su. et al. Predictors of utilization of public healthcare facilities in India: an empirical assessment. J Public Health (Berl.) (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-01970-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-01970-w