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Determinants of Health Seeking Behaviour in Uganda - Is It Just Income and User Fees That Are Important?

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  • Lawson, David

Abstract

This paper uses Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) data to investigate, via a discrete choice model, the main determinants associated with seeking private, government and pharmacy based health care, for both adults and children. More specifically, and particularly important given that almost 40% of the Ugandan population are below the poverty line and that policies on user fees have recently changed, we investigate if income and user fees are the main factors which influence health care demand in Uganda. After controlling for endogenously issues we find that income is strongly associated with increased health care usage, across all age ranges but especially for women, and that user fees are less significant that one might first expect, especially when compared to having a health unit within close proximity. Furthermore, we find significant differences in health seeking behavior to be related to age and gender, and that increased levels of education are consistently associated with a transfer away from government provided health care, possibly indicating that people regard its quality as inferior.

Suggested Citation

  • Lawson, David, 2004. "Determinants of Health Seeking Behaviour in Uganda - Is It Just Income and User Fees That Are Important?," Development Economics and Public Policy Working Papers 30553, University of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:idpmde:30553
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.30553
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    Cited by:

    1. Christelle Grobler & Ian C. Stuart, 2007. "Health Care Provider Choice," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 75(2), pages 327-350, June.
    2. Jacky MATHONNAT & Yong HE & Martine AUDIBERT, 2013. "Two-Period Comparison of Healthcare Demand with Income Growth and Population Aging in Rural China: Implications for Adjustment of the Healthcare Supply and Development," Working Papers 201315, CERDI.
    3. Nilsson, Therese & Bergh, Andreas, 2012. "Income Inequality and Individual Health: Exploring the Association in a Developing Country," Working Papers 2012:1, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    4. Mahua Patra & Satarupa Bandyopadhyay, 2020. "Health seeking behaviour and its determinants in urban areas of developing countries: A primary survey in Kolkata city, India," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(6), pages 1438-1452, November.
    5. Martine AUDIBERT & Jacky MATHONNAT & Yong HE, 2010. "Income Growth, Price Variation and Health Care Demand: A Mixed Logit Model Applied to Tow-period Comparison in Rural China," Working Papers 201035, CERDI.
    6. Martine Audibert & Yong He & Jacky Mathonnat, 2011. "Income Growth, Price Variation and Health Care Demand: A Mixed Logit Model Applied to Tow-period Comparison in Rural China," CERDI Working papers halshs-00552192, HAL.
    7. Bardhan, D. & Singh, P. & Tripathi, S.C., 2014. "Leveraging Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure of Dairy Cooperative Network: An ex-ante Analysis of Potential Institutional Innovation," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 27(Conferenc).
    8. Idrissa Beogo & Chieh-Yu Liu & Yiing-Jenq Chou & Chuan-Yu Chen & Nicole Huang, 2014. "Health-Care-Seeking Patterns in the Emerging Private Sector in Burkina Faso: A Population-Based Study of Urban Adult Residents in Ouagadougou," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-11, May.
    9. Martine Audibert & Yong He & Jacky Mathonnat, 2013. "Two-Period Comparison of Healthcare Demand with Income Growth and Population Aging in Rural China: Implications for Adjustment of the Healthcare Supply and Development," CERDI Working papers halshs-00846088, HAL.

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