| Factors affecting Nepalese rural dwellers’ choice of first-contact health facility: a cross-sectional survey |
| Authors: |
Hocheol Lee, Hyeyeon Jo, Biraj Man Karmacharya, Bimala Sharma, Pramita Shrestha, Prajwal Satyal and Eun Woo Nam |
| Source: |
Journal of Global Health Reports, 7 |
| Topic(s): |
Health care utilization
Residence
Service utilization
|
| Country: |
Asia
Nepal
|
| Published: |
MAY 2023 |
| Abstract: |
Background: Despite significant progress in Nepal’s health indicators over the past three decades,regional disparities in public health centre (PHC) provision and accessibility remain severe. It has been reported that rural dwellers prefer and place more trust in outreach centres (ORCs) run by the Dhulikhel Hospital. However, the reasons behind this remain unclear. We aimed to examine the determinants of Nepalese rural dwellers’ choice of
first-contact health facility.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey among 1,098 adult rural dwellers in Nepal. The study sample was first divided into PHC and ORC groups, and intergroup differences were
tested using Pearson chi-square test and independent sample t-test. Then, binary logistic
regression was performed to analyse first-contact health facility decision-making.
Results:Sex, education level, importance of health care satisfaction, importance of free healthcare, diagnosis of hypertension, diagnosis of diabetes, insurance coverage, savings,
community-level cooperation, and distance to the health facility were significant factors
affecting the choice of the first-contact health facility. Most significantly, people who
were unconcerned about receiving free health care were 19.417 times more likely to use
ORCs. Additionally, it was observed that rural dwellers perceived ORCs as providing
higher quality health care.
Conclusions: The government must promote cooperation between PHCs and ORCs, as it is essential to understand consumer demand, supply-side issues, and institutional aspects of health care in rural areas to achieve universal access to health care. |
| Web: |
https://www.joghr.org/article/75143-factors-affecting-nepalese-rural-dwellers-choice-of-first-contact-health-facility-a-cross-sectional-survey |
|